-£**=- 

J-/S 


Ten  times  a  day  Ohocorua  wept, 
Ten  fames  a  dayliis  shadow  swept 
In  plumy  form  arouad  h.er; 


HISTORY 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  NEf  ENGLAND, 


ELIOT    THE    APOSTLE 

Fifty  Years  in  the  Midst  of  Them. 

VOLS.    I.    AND    II. 


BY  COL.  ROBERT  BOODEY  CAVERLY, 

AUTHOR  OF  GENEALOGICAL,  POETICAL,  AND  OTHER  WORKS. 


BOSTON: 

JAMES    H.   EARLE,    178   WASHINGTON   STREET. 

63  &  65  WASHINGTON   STREET,  CHICAGO. 

1882. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 

ROBERT  BOODEV  CAVERLY, 

111  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


PRESS   OF  W.  F.  BROWN  AND  COMPANY,    2l8  FRANKLIN  ST.,  BOSTON. 


MY    REVEREND    FRIEND 


in  literature  and  in  life  renowned,  we  inscribe  this  History  of 
startling  events,  —  events  which  transpired  in  the  primeval 
years  of  New  England,  at  a  period  when  civilization,  as 
against  barbarism,  began  to  break  in;  when,  for  the  time  being, 
might  made  right;  when  brutalities,  on  the  one  side  and  on 
the  other,  sought  to  gain  the  ascendancy;  when  a  professed 
humanity  had  been  led  to  lay  aside  the  Psalter,  the  Bible,  and 
the  Prayer-book;  when  mutual  madness  waged  a  war  of  blood, 
—  a  war  of  extermination,—  threatening,  as  it  did,  devastation 
and  death,  both  to  the  Puritan  and  to  the  wild-man  of  the 
wilderness. 

Then  it  was  that  the  fagot  torch  blazed  at  night  to  the  burn- 
ing down  of  camps  and  cots  in  the  hamlet,  and  to  the  laying 
waste  of  the  rude  wigwams  of  the  wilderness. 

It  was  then  that  the  English  sabre  and  the  Indian  tomahawk 
had  been  made  sharp  ;  then  it  was  that  the  cry  of  vengeance,  the 
Indian  war-whoop,  and  the  wood-cry  proclaiming  danger  and 
death,  brought  consternation  to  men,  women,  and  children  ;  then 
it  was,  day  and  niuht.  that  mutual  murders  and  hand-to-hand 
conflicts  crimsoned  the  skies,  filling  with  despair  the  fields  and 
forests  of  New  England. 

And  now,  while  the  intelligent  reader  shall  find  in  this  volume 
much  to  be  deplored,  still  there  may  remain  to  him  much  to  be 


2024314 


4  DEDICATION. 

pondered  and  cherished.  While  perusing  it,  startled  as  he  may 
be  at  the  frailties  of  man's  common  nature,  as  developed  from 
a  professed  civilization  or  from  a  brute  barbarism,  and  though 
pained  he  sometimes  may  be,  not  being  able  to  discover  in  their 
several  deeds  of  cruelty,  much  if  any  difference;  —  yet,  in  read- 
ing, it  may  be  well  to  bear  in  mind,  that  the  native  Indian  with 
these  New  England  annals,  which  tend  to  make  his  nature 
offensive,  has  had  nothing  to  do. 

It  is  not  to  be  ignored,  that  neither  the  pen  nor  the  paper  on 
which  we  write  is  his ;  that  the  ragged  line  of  race  and  color 
between  him  and  us,  which  ought  to  be  severed,  still  remains 
a  barrier  not  easily  to  be  removed;  that  the  conquered  red- 
man  having  vanished  away,  hath  become  unknown  to  us  save 
through  an  English  history,  written  and  published  from  time 
to  time  by  Cotton  Mather,  by  Douglas,  Hubbard,  and  others, 
mostly  in  the  midst  of  angry  conflicts  with  an  opposing  race. 

Hence,  it  now  becomes  us,  in  sight  of  the  name  and  fame  of 
the  native  Indian,  to  yield  and  concede  to  him  at  least  the 
ordinary  fairness  of  a  Christian  civilization. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  appears  of  his  native  nature,  and  the 
dire  deeds  to  which  he  in  many  instances  had  been  provoked, 
there  are  in  him,  often  to  be  found,  prominent  specimens  of 
man's  best  estate.  In  him,  as  well  as  in  the  white-man,  may 
be  learned  the  wrong  and  the  right  way.  From  both,  and  from 
all  else  to  be  found  in  this  book,  may  be  obtained  pure  lessons 
of  love,  which  will  prove  plain  and  profitable  to  direct  our  pil- 
grimage onward  and  upward  iu  and  throughout  the  narrow 
pathway  of  life. 

K.  B.  C. 


CONTENTS. 


Wars  of  an  hundred  years. 

King  Philip  and  his  Indian  Na- 
tions, 142. 

Major  Waidron  massacred,  263. 

Hannah  Duston's  captivity,  and 
her  tragic  release,  347. 

Chocorua,  slain  in  the  moun- 
tains, 397.* 

Eliot,  the  Apostle,  in  peace  and 
war,  45,  397.* 

Anna  (Mountford)  Eliot,  397.* 

Sermon  to  the  Red-man,  397.* 

Philip's  War,  144-146. 

The  sham  light  and  its  400  pris- 
oners, 247. 

Wamesit  (Lowell),  its  conflicts, 
218,  297.* 

Adams,  Mass.,  an  assault,  340. 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  ammunition,  229. 

Andovcr,  Mass.,  massacre,  265. 

Athol,  Mass.,  assault,  840. 

Amesbury,  assault  upon  it,  275. 

Alliances,  284. 

Amoskeag  Falls,  262. 

Anecdotes  (Indian),  134. 

Arrovvsick,  Me.,  its  conflicts, 
251,  252,  284. 

Army  raised  by  the  four  col- 
onies, 182. 

Barnard  Family  captives,  343. 

Battle  on  the  Mystic,  83,  100. 

Battle  on  Sachem's  Plain,  112. 

Battles,  48,  67,  79,  102,  113,  139, 
143,  155,  173,  176,  189,  192, 
222,  224,  226,  248,  2C3,  269, 
270,  287,  299,  306,  311,  313, 


316,  318,  320,  321,  326,  329, 

332,  334,  336,  337,  339,  349. 
Black-point,     troubled,     Scar- 

boro',  262. 
Bedford,  N.  H.,  McQuade  slain, 

308. 
Beers,  Capt.,  in  a  conflict,  170, 

172. 
Berwick,    Me.    (conflicts    in), 

273,  313. 

Billerica,  Mass.,  massacre,  265. 
Bloody  Brook,   battle  (men  of 

Essex),  173. 
Blind  Will,  262. 
Bradford,     Mass,    (massacre), 

218. 
Bradley,  Hannah,  in  captivity, 

378,  381,  382. 

Bradley,  Isaac,  captive,  385. 
Bridal     party     surprised      (at 

Wells),  337. 
Bridgewater,    Mass.,   assailed, 

209. 

Brookfleld,  Mass,  (battle),  169. 
Boston  in  a  hub-bub,  86. 
Bounties   for  scalps,  283,  303, 


Canonchet,  chased,  dies,  203. 
Canonicus,  his  last  words,  &c., 

72,  74,  91,  94. 
Casco,  Me.,  its  conflicts,  241, 

269,  273,  332. 
Chelmsford,     Mass.,     conflicts 

at,  211,  217. 
Church,  Maj.  Benja.,  162,  274, 

327,  335. 
Clergy  of  N.  E.  in  1643,  119. 


*  Life  of  Eliot,  page  397. 


CONTENTS. 


Clothing  of  the  tribes,  26. 
Colburn,     Edward,     killed     at 

Wamesit,  218,  397.* 
Colonies  alarmed,  1GO,  180. 
Concord,  Mass,  (its  conflicts), 

217. 
Concord,   N.  H.    (its  battles), 

295. 
Court  (first  trial  here),  144. 

Deerfleld,  Mass. (its  invasions). 

171,  277. 

Dedham  and  Seakonk,  223. 
Dorchester,  Oldham,  88. 
Dover,  N.  II..  conflicts  at,  263, 

2G4,  270;  271,  276,  280,  304. 
Drake,  Sir  Francis,  11. 
Duustable,    Mass,    (conflicts), 

275,  289,  295. 
Durham  (Oyster  River),  N.  H., 

143,  242,  276. 
Dutch  and  Indian  conflicts,  79, 

81,  135,  138,  139,  141. 
Duston,  Thomas,  Story  of,  369, 

373. 
Dutch  Robert,  Story  of,  174. 

Easthampton,  Mass.,  278. 

Exeter,  N.  H.,  massacres,  270, 
275,  276,  279,  280. 

Falmouth  (Portland),  Me.  (con- 
flicts), 310,  312. 

Faltering  of  the  tribes,  228. 

Foreign  wars,  effect  of  here,  139. 

Fort  Henry  assailed,  321,  326. 

French  and  Indian  battles,  137, 
132,  382. 

Garrisons,   172,   184,  232,  233, 

244,  298,  336. 

Goffe,  William,  concealed,  180. 
Groton,  Mass.,  massacres,  170, 

210,  270. 

Hadlcy,   Conflicts  at,  167,  172, 

176,  220,  339. 

Hatfleld  depredations,  171. 
Hartford,  Conn.,  79,  110,  118, 

136,  175. 


Hassamenosit  (Grafton),  177. 
Haverhill,  Mass.  (Dustou  story, 

&c.),  348,  355. 

Hilton,  Colonel,  280,  281,  284. 
Hookset,  N.  H.,  massacre,  308. 

Indians,  their  origin,  20,  21. 

Language,  42. 

Navigation,  34. 

Insurrection,  53. 

Time-keeping.  &c.,  33. 

Manners,  25-27. 

Names,  35. 

Habits,  26,  27. 

Numbers  slain,  27*2. 

Scalping,  how  done,  353. 

Scalps,  Bounty  on,  283. 

Mode  of  attack,  45. 

Mode  of  living,  30-40. 

History  of  old,  32-48. 

Mode  of  dress,  26,  58,  63. 

Depravity,  31. 

Lands   sold   by  Philip,  146- 
148. 

Spies,  James  and  Job,  214. 
Indictment  and  trial,  144. 

Kingston  conflicts,  275,  276. 
Kittery  massacre,  325. 

Lancaster,  fight  at,  192-197. 
Lathrop,    Captain    (contests), 

170-173. 

Leonardson,  Samuel,  357. 
Long  Beach,  262. 
Long  Island  and  Block  Island, 

95,  132-136. 

Lowell  (Wamesit),  Mass.,  218. 
Lovewell  and  his  companies  at 

the  pond,  289,  290,  294. 
Louisburg,  Fight  at,  304-306. 

Madocawanda,   the  chief,  251. 
Marlboro',     Mass.,     massacre, 

257. 

Massacre  of  Miantonimo,  117. 
Massanonomo  and  squaw,  71- 

72. 
Massasoit,  the  chief,  63,  121. 


CONTEXTS, 


Mayano's  tribes  and  Dutch,  139. 
Manhattan,  Dutch,  139. 
Mather,  Cotton,  131,  132,  152. 
Mecltield,  Mass.,  Attack  upon, 

199-202. 
Mendon,  destroyed  by  Indians, 

July  14,  1G75,  163.* 
Methuen,  Mary's  fitrms,  393. 
Mexain,  Miantouimo    accused, 

108-115. 

Missionaries  expelled,  330. 
Mohawks  at  Amoskeag,  262. 
Mohegans,  77,  133,  1G5,  204. 
Mount    Hope,     the    home    of 

Philip,  142,  157,  287. 
Mugg,  the  chief,  254-256. 

Narragansetts,  battle,  181-186. 
Neffe,  Mary  (widow),  356. 
New  England  and  its  landscape, 

11,  20,  49. 

New  London  troops,  77. 
Ninegret,  the  sachem,  128. 
Nipmucks  defined,  165,  168,  191. 
Norriclgewock,  Me.,  274. 
Northfleld  fight,  216,  222,  342. 
Northampton    fight,    176,    215, 

220. 
Norwich  conflict,  112. 

Oldham,  John,  89,  90. 
Old  and  new  style,  301. 
One-eyed  John,  213. 
Oweneco,  the  Mohegan,  154. 
Origin  of  the  tribes,  39. 
OS'jipce,  N.  II  ,  255. 
Oyster  River   (Durham),    242, 
269,  274,  276. 

Pakanekets,orWampanoags,3S. 
Passaconaway,  121-124. 
Paugus  slain,  294. 
Patuxet  tribes,  202. 
Pawtucket,    Battle    at,    many 

slain,  222. 
Pembroke,  N.  H.,  292. 


Pemaquid,  258,  272,  273. 
Pennacook's  battle,  295-298. 
Pequawket,  287. 
Pemaquid  fight,  258. 
Pettysquamscot  Swamp  battle, 

185-189. 
Pequots,    Warlike    destruction 

of,  77,  80,  84,  94,  100,  107. 
Plantation  at  Sagadahock,  239. 
Plymouth  Colony,  Pequots,  100. 
Prayer/  its  efficacy,  238. 
Portsmouth,  262,  271,  281. 
Philip's  War,  237  slain,  141,  145, 

153,  155,  169. 

Quaboag  tribe  in  Mass.  ,216, 222. 

Ralle,    the    missionary,    slain, 

283,  284,  285,  323. 
Ramkamagus,  a  Penacook,  263. 
Rattlesnake  story,  92. 
Rawlandson,  Mrs.,  in  captivity, 

193,  201,  206. 
Reading,  Mass.,  275-278. 
Rehobath,   Mass.,    arson,    162, 

165,  202. 

Reward  for  scalps,  283,  303,  308. 
Robinhood  and  the  dance,  240. 
liolph,  Rev.  Benja.,  slain,  368. 
Roxbury,  the  escort,  98. 
Royalton,  N.  H.,  battle,  343. 

Sachems  and  Sagamores,  68. 

Saco  invaded,  332. 

Sachem's  Plain,  Battle  at,  113. 

Sagadahock,  Plantation  on,  239. 

Sagamore,  John,  230. 

Salmon    Falls    massacre,    242, 

261,  320,  369. 
Samoset    meets    Pilgrims,    54, 

58. 

Sassamon,  John,  144,  397.* 
Sassacus  and  his  tribe  slain,  79, 

84,  102,  106. 
Saybrook,  Fort,  99. 
Scarborough,  332-334. 


Massachusetts  Gazeteer,  by  Rev.  E.  Nason,  p.  335. 


CONTENTS. 


Settlers  (number  of  killed  700), 

330. 

Scituate,  massacre,  208,  339. 
Saybrook,  Invasion  of,  96,  97. 
Sham  fight  at  Cocheco,  247. 
Simon  and  his  20  Indians  at 

Portsmouth,  2G2. 
Smith,  Capt.  John,  49. 
Southampton,  341. 
Squando,  200. 
Squanto,  G4-GG. 
Squaw  sachem  drowned,  231. 
Squaw  sachem  of  Seaconct,  226. 
Sterling,  Mass.,  invaded,  279. 
Stockbrklge,  attacked,  341. 
Stonewall,  John,  and  crew,  184. 
Stone,  Captain,  slain,  81. 
Sudbury  massacre,  204,  216,  223. 
Speech  of  a  squaw,  251. 

Simmon,  333. 

Springfield  fight,  175,  179,  219. 
Style,  and  how  reckoned,  301. 
Sudbury  fights,  204,  216,  223. 
Swansey,  Mass.,  155,  202,  208. 

Taratine  war  and  plague,  50. 
Taunton,  its  8  garrisons,  162. 
Tisquantum,  his  captivity,  &c., 

51,  61,  G5,  76. 
Tribes,  Names  of,  34. 

Origin  of,  39. 
Treaties,    85,    157,    160,     273, 

281,  307,  322,  325,   329,   330, 

331. 
Trial  of  Miantonimo,  115,  116. 

Wampapaquam,  144. 

Uncas,  the  Mohegan,  108,  153. 


Varnums    at    Wamesit,    slain, 
218,  397.* 

Wadsworth,     Captain,     slain, 

205. 
Waldron,  Major,  243,  247,  250, 

259,  260,  263,  264.       • 
Wamesit  (Lowell),  218,  397.* 
Wamsetta,  141. 
Wars,  67,  100,  207,  332. 
War-whoop  and    "wood-cry," 

53,  54. 

War  on  Long  Island,  138. 
Warwick-neck  conflict,  226. 
Westfleld  massacre,  177. 
Wells,  Me.,  conflicts,  2«5,  262, 

310,  318,  328,  333,  337. 
Wethersfield  murders,  99. 
Wetamoo,  squaw  sachem,  149. 
Williams,   Roger,   and  Canoii- 

icus,  73-74. 

Wickford    massacre,    150  wig- 
wams burned, 183. 
Wigwams,    300   in    a    swamp, 

163. 
Winslow,  Gov.,  and  Nat.,  the 

juryman,  145. 
Winter  Harbor,  fight,  337. 
Whittaker,  Jos.,  Story  of,  375. 
Women  in  war,  275,  384. 
Worcester,  skirmish,  278. 
Wonalancet,  peaceful,  123,  127, 

167. 
Wrentham,  Mass.,  burnt,  340. 

York,   Town  of,  its  garrisons, 

&c.,  316,  317. 
Young  men  of  Essex,  slain,  173. 


N.  B. — For  further  Table  of  Contents  see  in  the   context 
"  Eliot's  Life,"  page  (5)  401. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CHOCORUA  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  KEOKA      .       .        Frontispiece 

THE  PEMIGEWASSETT 30 

SAMOSET  AND  PILGRIMS 54 

TREATY  OF  MASSASOIT  WITH  GOVERNOR  CARVER  .        .  62 

TlSQUANTUM   IN  THE   CLOUD 76 

THE  CONFLICT 98 

MOUNT  GRACE,  MASS. 198 

THE  GARRISON-HOUSE  AT  BARRINGTON,  N.  H.        .        .  232 

RALLE'S  MONUMENT  AT  NORRIDGEWOCK,  ME.        .        .  284 

BLOCK-HOUSE  AT  FORT  HALIFAX,  ME 312 

GARRISON-HOUSE  AT  YORK,  ME.  (built  about  1645)  .        .  316 

LARABEE'S  GARRISON,  KENNEBUNK,  ME.        .        .        .  332 

STATUE  OF  MRS.  DUSTON  ON  THE  ISLAND       .        .        .  354 

HANNAH  DUSTON  AT  THE  MASSACRE  362 


INVOCATION. 


Bless  me,  ye  powers!     This  world  of  ours, 

In  peaky,  proudest  beauty, 
But  points  to  Thee  —  inspiring  me 

To  diligence  in  duty. 

True,  true,  they  say,  there  is  a  better  day: 
And  faith  we  ought  to  find  it! 

For  the  lights  of  love  that  burn  above 
Are  lit  for  man  to  mind  it. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INDIAN  NATIONS:  THEIR  COUNTRY  AND  THEIR  DE- 
SCENT. 

Sir  Francis  Drake's  Advent. — No  Historic  Record  previously.  —  Out- 
lines of  the  New-England  Territory.  —  Beauties  of  its  Landscape. 
—  Poetical  Description  of  its  Creation,  and  of  the  Formation  of 
its  Rivers.  — The  Winnipiseogee,  and  other  Lakes.  —  Rivers  and 
Tributaries.  —  Origin  of  the  Indian  Nations  of  the  New  World. 
—Their  Manners  and  Habits.  —  Their  Numbers  at  the  Coming  of 
the  Puritans. — Their  Ignorance. — Their  Government. —Their 
Fashions  of  Dress.  —  Kind  at  First.  —  Changing  Gradually  by 
the  Machinations  of  the  French,  by  Individual  Indiscretion,  and 
by  their  own  unbridled  Infirmities. 

HE  history  of  New  England  is  brief  and 
tragical.  It  dates  back  no  farther  than  to 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  that  adventurous  white 
man  who  in  1586  first  touched  upon  its 
shores,  named  it,  and  then,  leaving  it, 
advanced  onward  upon  his  famous  voyage  around 
the  world. 

Up  to  thai;  period,  whatever  had  transpired  in  the 
affairs  of  this  part  of  the  New  World  is  unknown. 
Oblivion  covers  it :  nor  is  it  within  the  power  of 
mortal  vision  to  trace  or  discover  its  outlines.  Hence 
every  thing  historical  in  this  region,  anterior  to  the 


12  NEW   ENGLAND. 

advent  of  Drake,  becomes  a  matter  of  mere  inference, 
or  of  curious  speculation. 

The  countless  years  thus  passed  of  man's  career  — 
Fraught  with  achievements  oft  enacted  here, 
With  works  of  skill,  what  human  thought  could  do, 
With  grand  exploits,  or  deeds  of  direful  hue, 
With  kings  and  prophets,  chief  in  note  or  worth, 
Through  generations  vast  transpired  on  earth — 
Make  but  a  blank  in  Time's  historic  lore, 
Till  voyagers  from  another  world  came  o'er. 

From  my  Merrimack,  p.  22. 

In  Drake's  time  the  length  and  breadth  of  territory 
then  comprised  within  the  outward  lines  of  Maine, 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Connecticut,  was  a  vast  wilderness,  crowned  with  its 
white  mountains  on  the  north-east,  towering  in  the 
clouds,  and  sending  forth  ten  thousand  rills  to  the 
east,  to  the  west,  to  the  north,  and  to  the  south, 
from  which  the  beautiful  Merrimack,  the  Connecticut, 
and  the  Saco  leaped  forth  as  from  the  creation,  and 
with  silvery  waters  then  flowing,  rolling,  meander- 
ing downward  through  the  then  vast  wilderness,  — 

To  form  a  sea',  and  on  the  world  bestow 

A  vast  highway,  with  tides  to  ebb  and  flow ; 


THE   STEEAM  AND   TIDE.  13 

In  light  refulgent,  in  extent  sublime, 
To  swarm  with  joyous  life  through  endless  time ; 
To  float  huge  ships  in  commerce  and  in  strife 
Of  unborn  nations  waking  into  life. 

Through  constant  heat  her  atoms  rise  again, 
Floating  in  transit  backward  whence  they  came, 
Feeding  the  streams  with  purer  founts  anew, 
Which,  made  eternal,  onward  still  pursue. 
Both  flood  and  vapor  in  one  circuit  run, 
Like  planet  in  her  orb  about  the  sun, 
Or  like  the  life-blood  coursing  in  the  vein 
By  means  of  arteries,  return  again, 
Sustaining  man's  frail  body  from  his  birth,  — 
So  moving  waters  do  the  vital  earth : 
Pervading  nature's  germs  and  fibres  free, 
Upward  in  channels  creep  through  herb  and  tree, 
They  deck  the  daisy  in  her  checkered  bloom, 
And  swell  the  rose  to  yield  a  sweet  perfume, 
Are  felt  in  trunk,  in  branch,  in  bud,  and  leaves, 
And  thence  escape  in  clouds  borne  on  the  breeze ; 
Emblem  of  the  "  Eternal "  in  their  round, 
E'er  free  to  give,  but  ne'er  exhausted  found. 

Standing  on  the  lofty  heights  of  New  England, 
the  historic  spectator  is  entranced.  He  sees  spread 
out  before  him,  southward  and  eastward,  in  azure 


NEW    ENGLAND. 

brilliancy,  its  vast  expanse  of  field  and  forest,  of 
mansion  and  village,  interlaced  with  the  meander- 
ing Saco  and  Connecticut ;  while  rolling  onward,  as 
if  to  its  eternal  destiny,  in  the  midst  of  this  beauti- 
ful landscape  is  the 

MEREIMACK. 

Sweet  river  I  thy  true  source  which  angels  sung 
At  the  creation  when  the  world  begun, 
We  seek ;  and  how  thy  rills,  of  chaos  born, 
First  leaped  rejoicing  in  their  native  form ; 
When  bleak  New  Albion's  height  began  to  rise, 
And  moon  and  stars,  just  formed,  lit  up  the  skies, 
How  the  great  God  on  high  with  outstretched  hand 
Divided  waters  from  the  massive  land, 
Scooped  the  vast  concave  of  the  ocean-bed, 
And  infant  channels  for  the  rivers  made ; 
And  how  and  when  his  wisdom  next  arranges 
To  move  the  stagnant  floods  by  natural  changes, 
Compel  the  seas  their  rugged  bounds  forsake, 
Becloud  the  hills,  and  shining  rivers  make ; 
To  make  thin  vapors,  heated  to  excess, 
On  ocean  more,  on  terra  firma  less, 
Out  from  the  briny  waves  incessant  rise 
Above  the  hills,  and  back  to  other  skies 
Combine  in  clouds,  and  vast  collections  form, 
Spreading  the  heavens  with  impending  storm  ; 


STORM  AND  TEMPEST.  15 

Whence  earth  itself,  full  formed,  begins  to  move 
Through  mighty  conflicts  by  the  hand  of  Jove, 
Outward  and  onward  from  its  native  source, 
Round  with  the  whirling  spheres  to  take  its  course. 
Now  then  the  forked  light,  ascending  high, 
Unveils  the  terrors  of  a  troubled  sky. 
Tempestuous  gales  in  darkness  intervene, 
Sweeping  the  world  with  howlings  in  extreme, 
And  thunderings  loud :  the  clouds,  let  loose  in  drops, 
Dash  down  their  showers  on  the  mountain-tops, 
Then  leap  the  streamlets  from  the  mountain  waste 
As  if  by  stern  command  requiring  haste ; 
As  if  God's  power,  with  screw  and  lever  plied, 
Squeezing  the  lofty  hills  to  raise  the  tide, 
Would  drown  the  earth  in  awful  floods  sublime, 
For  local  sin,  or  want  of  faith  divine ; 
As  since  in  wrath  he  did  in  Noah's  time. 
Thus  at  creation's  dawn  did  Merrimacjs: 
Begin  to  flow.     The  storm  subsides  ;  and  light  — 
Bright  gleaming  sunbeams — broke  from  sable  night. 
And  now  the  sweeping  wave,  with  banks  o'erflown, 
Brilliant  and  grand,  'mid  azure  splendor  shown, 
Rolls  on :  and  —  with  accumulated  force 
Of  mighty  waters  on  their  destined  course 
Through   naked  banks  ne'er  washed  by  waves  be- 
fore; 
Now  curving  o'er  the  cliff  with  dashing  roar 


16  NEW   ENGLAND. 

Of  cataract ;  now  swelling  far  and  wide 
Down  sloping  vales  in  full  majestic  tide  ; 
Then  gliding  smooth,  as  plain  or  meads  ensue, 
In  tranquil  pride  resplendent  bravely  through  — 
Conveys  her  fountains  to  the  untried  shore, 
Where  wave  or  flood  had  never  reached  before. 

From  my  Merrimack,  p.  11. 

Such  have  been  the  workings  of  these  tragic 
waters  from  the  creation.  Such,  indeed,  was  the 
landscape  view  of  New  England  in  1586,  when  Drake 
discovered  it ;  differing  only  in  change  of  the  re- 
volving seasons,  as  when  the  bleak  blast  of  stormy 
winter  beat  upon  it,  or  when  the  zephyrs  of  sweet 
summer  fanned  the  old  forest  to  a  tranquil  repose. 

Beautiful  landscape!  From  its  lofty  mountain 
height,  as  if  present,  let  us  pause.  The  God  of  na- 
ture is  here :  we  behold  him  in  the  air,  in  the  river, 
in  the  cloud.  Before  us  and  around  us  is  spread  out 
that  wild  New-England  wilderness,  which  in  the  ad- 
vancing years  is  to  become  the  great  battle-field  of 
the  world,  —  a  crimson  field,  where  barbarism  is  to 
arise  and  manifest  itself  as  never  before,  and  where 
civilization,  as  opposed  to  it,  at  the  hand  of  God 
and  of  the  Pilgrim,  is  to  live  in  its  economy,  and 
obtain  a  foothold. 

Here,  too,  the  great  Winnepiseogee,  shining  forth 


THE   FINNY   TRIBES  17 

as  it  did  at  creation's  dawn,  together  with  other  innu- 
merable beautiful  lakes  teeming  with  life,  dotted  the 
landscape.  These,  with  the  great  rivers  we  have 
named,  and  their  tributaries,  had  been  made  alive 
with  sturgeon  here,  with  salmon  there,  with  shad, 
alewives,  and  the  finny  tribes  generally  in  abundant 
varieties,  of  whose  origin  and  advent  we  have  spec- 
ulated in  "  The  Merrimack :  "  — 

Next  near  the  shore,  now  gliding,  glittering,  seen, 

Minnows  innumerous  in  the  waters  green ; 

Minute  in  size,  some  faster,  fuller  grown, 

Each  for  an  end,  yet  there  unseen,  unknown, 

In  caves  now  playful,  cautious,  prone  to  be ; 

Then  out  in  depths  of  waters  sporting  free, 

Each  draws  from  heaven  the  fleeting  breath  of  life, 

Here  to  subsist  through  elemental  strife, 

Varied  in  species,  color,  and  in  form, 

Some  cold  in  temperament,  others  warm, 

Each  to  its  kind  attached,  prolific,  free 

To  seek  and  share  a  common  destiny. 

In  lapse  of  time  from  tiny  minim  grown, 

The  whale  loomed  up  in  vast  proportion  shown. 

Now  restless  seeks  more  spacious  depths  to  gain, 

And  finds  a  homestead  in  the  briny  main. 

Huge  sturgeons  too,  —  all  fish  of  larger  growth 

Swelled  the  deep  current  seaward  splashing  forth ; 


18  NEW    ENGLAND. 

While  smaller  forms,  as  trout  and  pickerel, 

Inhabit  native  streams,  content  to  dwell 

Fresh-water  tenants,  tranquil  quite  as  yet 

By  foe  unsought,  unhurt  by  hook  or  net ; 

While  others  rove.     The  favorite  salmon  tries 

The  arctic  seas  in  light  of  other  skies ; 

Yet,  when  sweet  spring  betides  the  Merrimack, 

His  out-bound  path  he  fondly  follows  back 

With  finny  tribes.     Then  through  the  inlets  trace 

A  countless  progeny,  an  infant  race 

From  hidden  spawns,  to  swarm  the  harmless  shore ; 

Then  gambol  outward,  onward  as  before, 

Quiet,  yet  quick  in  transit  to  and  fro, 

E'er  keen  to  see  what  makes  for  weal  or  woe, 

They  drink  sweet  joys  in  light  of  nature  given, 

And  fill  a  purpose  grand,  ordained  of  Heaven. 

Thus,  then,  did  the  bright  waters  of  New  England 
teem  with  inhabitants,  lined  and  surrounded  as  they 
were  by  that  lofty  old  forest  that  had  stood  the  tem- 
pestuous blast  of  the  eternal  ages,  and  never  as  yet 
had  seen  the  woodman's  axe.  Majestic,  lofty  as 
ever  it  then  stood,  casting  its  shadows  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains,  on  the  margin  of  the  lakes  and  rivers 
of  New  England,  and  along  the  shores  of  the  sea,  as 
it  loomed  up  in  the  sublimity  of  its  beauty.  Ancient, 
venerable  old  forest!  Where,  oh  where  are  the 


BEAST   AND  BIRD.  19 

tribes  that  knew  thee  of  yore  ?  Within  and  beneath 
the  shadows  of  thy  waving  boughs  various  fruits  of 
the  earth  had  sprung  forth ;  and  the  wild  deer,  the 
moose,  the  roebuck,  the  stag,  the  bear,  the  beaver, 
and  other  wild  animals,  have  come  forth  and  gam- 
bolled, each  race  in  its  turn  passing  away,  unknown 
of  the  white  man,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world. 

Here  also  did  the  beautiful  bird  delight  to  dwell, 
in  nearly  all  its  varieties,  from  the  noble,  historic 
eagle  to  the  sedate  and  lonely  little  sparrow. 

Of  the  origin  or  advent  of  all  these  have  we  spec- 
ulated in  "  The  Merrimack :  "  — 

Meanwhile,  the  tree,  for  fruit  and  forest  sprung 

From  latent  life  beneath  the  soil,  begun 

To  spread  in  varied  shadows  Mother  Earth 

Verdant  and  fruitful ;  in  productive  birth 

Alike  of  insects  strange,  of  beast  or  bird, 

In  pairs  connubial,  fit  for  flock  or  herd. 

As  thus  'mid  thicket  dense,  or  bower  green, 

In  earth  or  air,  at  first  half-hidden  seen 

The  merest  mites,  thence,  formed  and  fluttering,  move 

Unfeathered  owls,  the  raven,  hawk,  and  dove ; 

Whence  flaunts  the  eagle  due  in  course  of  time, 

And  songsters  warbli ng  wing  for  every  clime ; 

Whence  all  the  nervy  tenants  of  the  air, 

From  proudest  swan  to  flitting  insect  rare, 


20  NEW    ENGLAND. 

Whence  clods  of  earth,  and  drops  of  water  pure, 
First  fraught  with  life,  with  life  can  but  endure. 
Of  tardy  growth,  sleek  whelps  in  tiny  form, 
From  latent  caverns  in  the  hill-side  warm, 
Of  panther  race,  and  beasts  of  other  kind, 
At  length  emerge,  and  habits  varied  find. 

But  the  most  interesting  production  found  on  these 
shores  by  the  first  adventurers  was  the  red  man. 
How  long  he  had  lived  and  wandered  in  this  wilder- 
ness with  his  tribes,  subsisting  from  day  to  day 
almost  entirely  upon  the  productions  of  a  New- 
England  forest,  and  of  its  lakes  and  rivers,  was  and 
still  remains  a  mystery. 

HIS   ORIGIN. 

The  origin  of  the  natives  of  this  new  world  is  like 
a  sealed  book.  All  speculations  in  reference  to  it 
are  attended  with  extreme  doubt  and  uncertainty. 
No  theory  is  satisfactory.  -These  benighted  sons,  of 
themselves  knew  nothing,  and  had  no  definite  idea 
of  the  paternity  of  their  race  ;  and  in  this,  perhaps, 
we  are  no  wiser  than  they.  Many  have  believed 
them  to  be  of  Asiatic  origin,  and  that  they  had 
crossed  over  here  upon  the  ice  that  covers  the  north- 
ern coast  of  America. 

Yet,  opposed  to  such  a  theory,  is  the  fact  that  there 


INDIAN  DESCENT.  21 

is  a  vast  dissimilarity  now  existing  between  the 
Asiatics,  and  the  North-American  Esquimaux  and 
other  Indians.  Reason  would  seem  to  warrant  the 
belief,  that,  in  the  absence  of  proof  to  the  contrary, 
the  same  race  of  men  that  our  forefathers  first  found 
had  always  been  here. 

That  the  "  New  World  "  had  existed  for  thousands 
of  years  without  having  a  race  of  men  upon  it,  would 
seem  but  little  short  of  a  rash  presumption. 

That  it  had  been  left  to  accident ;  that  it  had 
been  left  to  be  peopled  by  the  passing  of  a  tribe  from 
Asia  over  an  unknown  arctic  region,  too  cold  for 
human  existence  to  get  to  it,  —  would  seem  to  be 
a  presumption  quite  as  rash. 

On  the  whole,  we  can  but  perceive  that  the  wild 
forests  of  America,  when  discovered  by  the  white 
race,  were  as  well  suited  to  the  Indian  as  the  Indian 
was  to  the  forest.  And  that  the  Indian  here  was  no 
more  a  matter  of  accident  than  was  the  forest  itself ; 
and  that  both  were  but  parts  of  one  and  the  same 
great  design,  —  would  seem  to  be  the  most  reasona- 
ble theory. 

In  alluding  to  his  origin,  as  may  be  seen  in  my 
"  Merrimack  "  of  years  ago,  we  made  suggestions  as 
follows :  — 


22  NEW    ENGLAND. 

HIS   CREATION. 

Then  next  from  curious  germ  beneath  the  sod, 

Now  blest  of  needful  care  of  nature's  God, 

Whose  eye,  all-seeing,  here  began  to  scan 

The  strange  invention  of  mysterious  man, 

By  vigorous  thrift,  as  fell  the  beaming  rays 

Of  Phoebus,  fitly  felt  on  vernal  days, 

Came  forth  an  Indian's  form  divine, 

First  spawn  of  manhood  on  the  stream  of  time, 

Basking  in  valleys  wild,  earth-formed,  earth-fed, 

For  ripened  age  by  native  reason  led ; 

And  chief  o'er  beast  and  bird  in  power  became,  — 

A  fitful  terror  to  the  timid  game. 

And  so  it  was:  the  manners  and  habits  of  the 
native  Indians,  for  aught  we  know,  had  always  been 
the  same  as  now.  Tradition  affords  us  nothing 
otherwise.  They  are  known  only  as  they  were  first 
found  by  the  adventurer  from  the  Old  World. 

Their  history,  circumscribed  as  it  is  within  the 
limits  of  t-heir  short  existence  with  the  white  man, 
comprises  the  record  -  of  their  race  for  all  time. 
Probably  for  thousands  of  years  they  had  been  noth- 
ing but  wild  hunters,  with  manners  and  habits  the 
same,  unimproved,  unchanged,  as  is  described  in 
"  The  Merrimack :  "  — 


THE  INDIAN'S  GOD  AND  LIFE.  23 

And  thus,  o'er  land  and  stream,  for  ages  long, 

A  race  of  red  men,  vagrant,  plod  along 

With  language  taught  from  rustic  nature's  throne, 

And  habits  each  peculiarly  their  own  ; 

On  growth  spontaneous  fed,  content  with  prey, 

What  serves  the  purpose  of  a  single  day. 

Their  God  is  seen  afar  at  rise  of  sun ; 

Their  life  in  heaven  is  hunting,  here  begun. 

By  laws  unwritten,  sachems  rule  the  tribes, 

And  lead  the  host  wherever  ill  betides 

To  fatal  war.     By  force  of  arrows  hurled, 

They  reigned  sole  monarchs  in  this  western  world. 

It  is  asserted,  that,  when  the  Pilgrims  landed, 
there  were  then  about  twenty  nations,  or  tribes,  of 
Indians  in  New  England.  These  nations  were  dis- 
tinct from  each  other,  but  united  sometimes  for 
mutual  protection,  and  for  the  purposes  of  war.  In 
every  tribe  there  was  a  chief,  or  sagamore,  to  whom 
all  the  others  paid  deference.  But,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  the  Indian  wars,  and  the  plague  of 
1617-18,  had  greatly  reduced  their  numbers. 

In  the  same  work  I  once  briefly  discoursed  of 

HIS   HABITS. 

Increased  at  length  by  nature's  self-same  laws 
To  numerous  tribes,  prolific  men  and  squaws, 


24  NEW    ENGLAND. 

From  artful  wigwams  new  spread  o'er  the  land, 

First  skill  evinced  in  architecture  grand,  — 

He  wanders  wild,  belted  with  arrows  keen, 

And  blest  with  knowledge  right  and  wrong  between, 

A  stately  priest  at  peace.     Provoked  to  strife, 

He  wields  a  hatchet  and  a  scalping-knife 

With  dire  revenge.     E'er  true  to  self  and  squaw, 

He  knows  no  faith,  no  code,  but  nature's  law ; 

His  footsteps  fondly  dwell  where  now  we  trace 

Primeval  heirlooms  of  the  human  race,  — 

The  chisel  smooth,  and  tomahawk,  first  made 

Of  stone,  ere  art  had  formed  the  iron  blade ; 

Where,  from  a  narrow  dock,  with  native  crew, 

He  launched  in  naval  pride  the  first  canoe, 

And  ploughed  the  Merrimack.     His  dripping  oar 

Ripples  the  waters,  never  pressed  before ; 

Bestirs  the  scaly  tribes  to  nervous  fear 

For  rights  most  sacred  thus  invaded  here, 

As  if  by  instinct  they  the  chieftain  knew 

To  be  a  tyrant  and  a  glutton  too, 

Intent  on  native  beast  or  bird  or  fish, 

By  slaughter  dire  to  fill  a  dainty  dish  ; 

Whose  webs  are  nets  from  bark  of  trees  alone, 

And  mills  that  grind  are  mortars  made  of  stone ; 

Who  clothed  his  tribes,  if  clad  they  e'er  appear, 

In  raiment  plundered  from  the  bounding  deer  ; 

Who  maketh  treacherous  hooks  from  guiltless  bones, 

And  drags  a  deadly  net  o'er  sacred  homes. 


GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   TRIBES.  25 

HIS  IGNORANCE. 

He  was  no  artisan.  His  wigwam  and  birch  canoe 
evinced  the  best  skill  in  architecture  which  he  ever 
had.  His  paintings  were  extravagant  and  gaudy, 
his  colors  brilliant.  The  flesh  side  of  skins  taken  by 
the  Indian  hunter  was  generally  taken  on  which  to 
paint.  These  he  spotted  in  curious,  fantastic  hues, 
and  often  with  fantastic  colorings  such  as  none  but  a 
wild  man  could  make,  contrive,  or  invent.  He  knew 
but  little,  and  sought  for  improvement  in  nothing. 


HIS    GOVERNMENT. 

In  other  parts  of  the  earth  all  societies  or  cohabi- 
tants are  controlled  by  governments,  and  an  absolute 
compelling  power  is  lodged  somewhere,  and  in  some 
manner,  in  each  and  all  of  them  ;  but  not  so  with  the 
North- American  Indians.  They  had,  substantially, 
no  compelling  power  the  one  over  another. 

When  a  tribe  or  neighborhood  sent  delegates  to 
treat  with  other  tribes,  or  with  bodies  of  white  men, 
the  conclusions  were  always  carried  home  memoriter  ; 
and  the  young  men,  who  were  always  to  be  depended 
on  in  war,  must  be  persuaded  to  accede  to  all  of  their 
general  articles  of  agreement  for  peace  or  for  war. 
And,  in  the  tide  of  events,  if,  from  war  and  blood. 


26  NEW    ENGLAND. 

they  at  any  time  were  forced  into  a  defeat  or  into 
an  humble  treaty  of  peace,  the  blame,  as  of  course, 
would  always  fall  upon  their  young  men. 

THEIR   CLOTHING. 

The  Northern  Indians  wore  skins  of  seals,  cut  in 
different  ways,  according  to  their  curious,  fantastic 
fashions,  and  sewed  together  with  thongs.  They 
had  no  threads  of  flax  or  hemp.  In  other  parts  of 
the  country  they  wore  skins  from  the  various  beasts 
of  the  forest. 

After  the  first  English  settlements  in  New  England, 
they  wore  duffels  and  blanketings  of  about  two  yards 
square,  which  the  Romans  would  have  denominated 
"  togas."  Their  sagamores,  or  sachems,  wore  blankets 
with  borders  of  different  colors. 

When  the  explorers  of  New  England  first  made 
their  appearance  here,  the  Indians  generally  enter- 
tained them  with  a  generous  feeling,  seldom  if 
ever  doubting  their  sincerity  and  truth.  But  after  a 
series  of  years  had  elapsed,  —  partly  by  reason  of 
the  wild,  cruel,  and  uncultivated  nature  of  the  Indian 
himself,  and  of  his  unstable,  treacherous  disposition ; 
and  partly  by  reason  of  the  want  of  kindness,  discre- 
tion, honesty,  and  fairness,  of  individual  white  men, 
who  from  time  to  time  violated  law  and  justice ;  and 
partly  from  the  secret  machinations  of  French  Jesuits 


INDIAN   CHARACTER.  27 

and  their  hirelings,  who  took  an  interest  in  advising 
and  instigating  the  Northern  and  Eastern  tribes  to 
make  war  upon  the  English,  —  the  native  Indian, 
who  had  theretofore  been  master  of  the  soil,  began  to 
consider  himself  in  the  place  of  a  degraded  servant. 
Hence  he  manifested  himself  true  to  his  nature  ;  and 
at  every  provocation,  real  or  surmised,  he  sprang 
forth  from  his  secret  hiding-places,  an  implacable 
enemy  to  the  white  man,  quick  at  resentment,  and 
reckless  in  revenge.  Notwithstanding  the  agency 
which  some  of  the  French  in  Canada  had  in  starting 
and  perpetuating  at  least  a  part  of  the  Indian  wars 
in  New  England,  yet  they  were  led  to  see  the 
Indian's  true  nature  and  character:  they  named 
him  (as  some  think)  accurately,  "  Les  homines  des 
bois,"  men-brutes  of  the  forest. 

MANNERS   IN  THE  WIGWAM. 

"The  business  of  the  women  is  to  take  exact 
notice  of  what  passes,  imprint  it  in  their  memories 
(for  they  have  no  writing),  and  communicate  it  to 
theii  children.  They  are  the  records  of  the  council ; 
and  they  preserve  tradition  of  the  stipulations  in 
treaties  a  hundred  years  back,  which,  when  we  com- 
pare with  our  writings,  we  always  find  exact.  He 
that  would  speak  rises.  The  rest  observe  a  pro- 
found silence. 


28  NEW    ENGLAND. 

When  he  has  finished,  and  sits  down,  they  leave 
him  five  or  six  minutes  to  recollect,  that  if  he  has 
omitted  any  thing  he  intended  to  say,  or  has  any 
thing  to  add,  he  may  rise  again,  and  deliver  it.  To 
interrupt  another,  even  in  common  conversation,  is 
reckoned  highly  indecent.  How  different  this  is 
from  the  mode  of  conversation  in  many  polite  com- 
panies of  Europe,  where,  if  you  do  not  deliver  your 
sentence  with  great  rapidity,  you  are  cut  off  in  the 
middle  of  it  by  the  impatient  loquacity  of  those  you 
converse  with,  and  never. suffered  to  finish  it!  " 

Instead  of  being  better  since  the  days  of  Franklin, 
we  apprehend  it  has  grown  worse.  The  modest  and 
unassuming  often  find  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  gain 
a  hearing  at  all.  Ladies,  and  many  who  consider 
themselves  examples  of  good  manners,  transgress  to 
an  insufferable  degree,  in  breaking  in  upon  the  con- 
versations of  others.  Some  of  these,  like  a  ship 
driven  by  a  north-wester,  bearing  down  the  small 
craft  in  her  course,  come  upon  us  by  surprise ;  and,  if 
we  attempt  to  proceed  by  raising  our  voices  a  little, 
we  are  sure  to  be  drowned  by  a  much  greater  eleva- 
tion on  their  part.  It  is  a  want  of  good-breeding, 
which,  it  is  hoped,  every  young  person  whose  eye 
this  may  meet  will  not  be  guilty  of  through  life. 
There  is  great  opportunity  for  many  even  of  mature 
years  to  profit  by  it.  —  S.  Cr.  .Drake. 


CHAPTER  II. 


INDIAN  NATIONS,   THEIR   TRIBES   AND   HABITS. 

Always  at  Leisure. —  His  Habits,  and  Mode  of  Living.— Fish  as 
found  in  the  New-England  Rivers.  —  Indian  Deceit,  Revenge, 
and  Barbarity.— Have  but  little  Honesty.  —  No  Faith.  —  Their 
Paintings. — Reckonings  of  Time,  Distances,  &c.  —  Names  of 
some  of  the  Tribes.  —  The  Winnepiseogees.  —  Definitions  of  In- 
dian "Words. — The  Abeiiaqui  Indians.  — Number  of  Several  of 
the  Tribes. —  Their  Locations.  —  Tribes  Anciently.  —  Their  own 
Hostilities  favored  the  English  in  New  England.  —  Never  lay  up 
Any  Thing  in  Store.  — Their  Medical  Practice.  — Language  and 
Reckonings.  —  Hieroglyphics.  —  Their  Fashion  of  changing  their 
Names.  —  Names  of  Massasoit's  Two  Sous  changed.  —  Eliot 
prints  a  Bible  in  Indian  Language. — Naticks. — Indian  Mode 
of  Attack. 


N  Indian  was  always  at  leisure.  He  knew 
no  overtasking  of  the  brain,  had  no 
troublesome  extensive  trade,  no  taxes  to 
pay,  no  rents,  no  national  debts.  All 
his  surroundings  were  free  to  him.  Each 
had  a  share  in  the  cool  and  shady  hunting-grounds,  in 
the  skies  above  them,  and  in  the  best  fishing-places. 

His  corn-fields  were  where  he  sowed  his  seed. 
His  tobacco  was  a  constant  luxury  to  him;  and  his 
fishing  and  hunting  was  a  favorite  pastime. 

His  wants,  being  few,  were  easily  supplied.     The 


30  NEW    ENGLAND. 

bow-arrow  and  the  fishing-rod  afforded  him  a 
competence  in  food  and  raiment :  these  were  sub- 
stantially the  implements  of  his  toil  and  of  his 
care. 

With  his  squaw,  who  often  wandered  from  the 
wigwam  in  company  with  his  tribe,  he  was  usually 
contented  and  happy.  His  home  was  made  glad  with 
the  song  and  the  dance,  and  in  the  smoking  or 
"  drinking  the  pipe,"  as  they  usually  termed  it. 

The  large  lakes  and  rivers  always  afforded  him 
excellent  fishing-places.  The  rivers  were  a  constant 
income,  as  vast  highways,  which  brought  to  him,  at 
every  returning  spring,  a  full  supply  of  salmon,  ale- 
wives,  and  shad. 

At  that  day,  no  dams  or  bars  being  in  the  way  to 
impede  the  advent  or  progress  of  the  finny  tribes, 
they  came  in  vast  numbers,  and  ever  proved  a  source 
of  wealth  to  the  Indian.  At  the  forks  of  the  Mer- 
rimack  the  salmon,  which  always  seek  the  coldest 
climes,  generally  took  the  cold  water,  and  went  up 
the  Pemigewasset ;  while  the  others  took  to  the  warm 
water,  and  followed  the  Winnepeseogee  to  the  lake, 
or  into  the  smaller  streams. 

From  these  rivers  and  their  tributaries,  the  thirty 
thousand  Indians  that  used  to  trail  along  these  val- 
leys obtained  the  principal  share  of  their  support. 
For  thousands  of  years  the  waters  of  our  rivers  had 


THE  PEMIGEWASSETT,  page  30. 


INDIAN  DEPRAVITY.  31 

afforded  the  red  man  an  abundant  supply.  Salmon 
weighing  twenty  or  thirty  pounds  were  not  uncom- 
mon. There  were  then  no  gates  to  close  up  Nature's  - 
highway,  no  dashing  wheels  to  frighten  back  the  fish ; 
nor  was  there  then  any  need  of  artificial  steps  or  fish- 
ways  to  lead  the  bewildered  tribes  (as  are  now  in- 
vented, but  as  yet  in  vain)  over  high  dams  into  the 
ponds  above. 

Kind  Nature  had  given  to  the  native  Indian  the 
waters  of  these  rivers  to  run  freely  down,  as  from 
the  creation  they  had  run ;  and  had  given  to  the  fish 
common  highways  to  advance  upward  in  them.  Yet 
by  what  is  now  termed  the  progress  of  civilization,  \ 
the  tribes  of  fish,  as  well  as  the  tribes  of  red  men, 
have  become  almost  extinct  in  and  about  the  rivers 
of  New  England. 

Sturgeons  used  to  be  caught  in  the  Merrimack.  As 
these  large  fish  passed  up  the  river,  two  Indians,  the 
one  to  scull  the  boat,  and  the  other  to  throw  the 
weapon,  would  spear  them.  Many  a  noble  sturgeon, 
from  year  to  year,  was  thus  slain,  and  tugged  ashore 
from  his  native  waters. 

HIS   DEPRAVITY  AND   REVENGE. 

Douglas,  who  wrote  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years  ago,  says,  "  Indians  are  not  so  polite  as  the 
wandering  Tartars.  Like  the  wild  Irish,  they  dread 


32  NEW    ENGLAND. 

labor  more  than  poverty.  Like  dogs,  they  are  always 
either  eating  or  sleeping,  except  in  travelling,  hunt- 
ing, and  their  dances :  their  sloth  and  indolence  in- 
cline them  to  sottishness.  Before  Christians  arrived 
amongst  them,  they  had  no  knowledge  of  strong 
drink  :  this  Christian  vice  not  only  destroys  their  bod- 
ily health  and  that  of  their  progeny,  but  creates  feuds, 
outrages,  and  horrid  murders.  They  are  much  given 
to  deceit  and  lying,  so  as  scarce  to  be  believed  when 
they  speak  the  truth.  Their  temper  is  the  reverse 
of  East  Indians,  whereof  some  castes  or  sects  will  not 
kill  any  animal :  the  West  Indians,  or  Americans,  are 
barbarous,  and  upon  small  provocations  kill  their  own 
species.  Some  of  them  exceed  in  barbarity,  and  in 
revenge  and  fury  eat  the  flesh  of  their  enemies,  not 
from  hunger  or  delicacy.  Such  were  the  Florida  In- 
dians :  they  said  that  the  flesh  of  the  English  ate  mel- 
low and  tender,  that  of  the  Spaniard,  hard  and 
tough,  the  Bermudian,  fishy. 

"  The  Aboriginal  Americans  have  no  honesty,  no 
honor :  that  is,  they  are  of  no  faith,  but  mere  brutes 
in  that  respect.  They  generally  have  great  fortitude 
of  mind:  without  any  appearance  of  fear  or  con- 
cern, they  suffer  any  torture  and  death.  In  revenge 
they  are  barbarous  and  implacable :  they  never  forget 
nor  forgive  injuries.  If  one  man  kills  another,  the 
nearest  in  kindred  to  the  murdered  watches  an 


INDIAN   PAINTINGS  AND  TIME-KEEPING.         33 

opportunity  to  kill  the  murderer ;  and  the  death  of 
one  man  may  occasion  the  deaths  of  many ;  therefore, 
when  a  man  is  guilty  of  murder,  he  generally  leaves 
(he  tribe,  and  goes  into  a  kind  of  voluntary  banish- 
ment. They  are  a  sullen,  close  people.  The  Indian 
wars  ought  to  be  called  massacres,  or  inhuman  barba- 
rous outrages,  rather  than  necessary  acts  of  hostil- 
ity." 

PAINTING  AND  TIME-KEEPING. 

"  Indians  in  general,"  says  Douglas,  "  paint  their 
bodies,  especially  their  faces  (they  affect  red  colors), 
as  the  Picts  and  Britons  of  Great  Britain  formerly 
were  accustomed. 

"  In  the  higher  latitudes  the  Indians  reckon  their 
time  by  winters  (years),  by  moons  (months),  and  by 
sleeps  (nights). 

"  Between  the  tropics  they  reckon  by  rains  (the 
seasons  of  rains :  the  end  of  summer  and  beginning 
of  autumn  are  periodical,  as  are  our  winters),  moons, 
and  sleeps. 

IN   COMPUTING  DISTANCES. 

"  They  reckon  by  sleeps,  or  days'  travel  (as  the 
Dutch  do  by  hours),  viz.,  so  many  sleeps  or  days' 
travel  from  one  place  to  another." 


34  NEW    ENGLAND. 

THEIR  NAVIGATION. 

This  was  by  the  "  crossing  of  rivers  upon  bark- 
loys,  travelling  along  on  the  rivers  or  rivulets,  and  on 
the  sides  of  the  lakes,  in  canoes  or  '  schuyties,'  port- 
able by  two  men  in  their  carrying-places  from  one 
river  or  pond  to  another :  they  are  of  birch-bark, 
upon  ribs  of  ash,  sewed  together  by  some  tough 
wooden  fibres,  and  paid  (as  sailors  express  it),  with 
rosin  from  the  pine-tree.  They  use  no  sails  or  oars, 
only  paddles  and  setting-poles.  The  boat  is  capable 
of  carrying  a  man,  his  wife,  children,  and  baggage. 

"  Narrow  rivers  are  better  travelling  than  ponds 
and  lakes,  because  upon  the  lakes,  if  stormy  or  much 
wind,  they  cannot  proceed,  but  must  put  to  the 
shore." 

THE   TRIBES. 

The  names  of  the  tribes  led  for  the  most  part 
by  the  Pennacooks  were,  —  the  Agawams  of  Essex 
County,  the  Massachusetts,  Wamesits,  Nashuas, 
Souhegans,  Namoskeags,  and  Winnipesaukees. 
Aside  from  these,  there  were  other  tribes,  foreign  to 
the  Merrimack,  yet  acknowledging  fealty  to  the 
great  Pennacook  in  his  confederacy,  to  wit,  the 
Wachusetts,  Coosucks,  Pequakuakes,  Ossipees, 
Squamscotts,  Winnecowetts,  Piscataquaukes,  Newi- 
chewannocks,  Sacos,  and  Amariscoggins. 


INDIAN   LANGUAGE.  35 


NAMES   AND   DERIVATIONS. 

*'  The  Winnipesaukees  for  the  most  part  occupied 
the  lands  and  islands  in  and  about  their  favorite 
lake  of  that  name.  Its  outlet,  the  Weirs,  had  been 
for  hundreds  and  perhaps  thousands  of  years  their 
rallying-point,  to  which  they  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  returning  from  their  wanderings.  Winnipesau- 
kee  is  derived  from  winne  (beautiful),  nipe  (water), 
kees  (high),  and  auke  (a  place),  literally  meaning 
the  beautiful  water  of  the  high  place.  Wachu- 
setts  comes  from  wadcher  (a  mountain)  and  auke 
(a  place)  :  these  centred  near  Wachusetts  Moun- 
tain in  Massachusetts.  The  Coosucks  :  this  cogno- 
men is  derived  from  cooash  (pines)  ;  and  they  most- 
ly dwelt  on  and  boated  in  and  about  the  Connecti- 
cut River.  The  Pequaquaukes  —  from  Pequaquis 
(crooked)  and  auke  (a  place)  —  lived,  hunted,  and 
fished  up  and  down  their  favorite  Saco,  in  Maine  and 
New  Hampshire.  The  Ossipees,  from  cooash  (pines) 
and  nipe  (river),  wandered  in  and  about  Ossipee 
Lake  and  its  river,  in  the  county  of  Carroll,  N.H.,  and 
in  York  County,  Me.  The  8wamscotts  —  from  wiune 
(beautiful),  asquam  (water),  and  auke  (a  place)  — 
hunted  upon  Exeter  River  in  Exeter,  and  Stratham 
in  Rockingham  County,  N.H.  The  Winnecowetts, — 
froni  winne  (beautiful),  cooash  (pines),  and  auke  (a 


36  NEW    ENGLAND. 

place)  —  lurked  about  in  the  same  county.  The 
Piscataquaukes  —  from  pos  (great),  attuck  (a  deer), 
and  auke  (a  place) — fished  and  hunted  on  the  banks 
of  the  Piscataqua,  between  the  southeastern  part 
of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine.  The  Newichewar- 
nocks,  from  me  (my),  week  (a  contraction  of  week- 
warn,  a  house),  and  ouannocks  (come)  :  they  inhab- 
ited the  upper  branches  of  the  same  river,  known  as 
the  Salmon  Falls  and  the  Cocheco.  The  name  Sacos 
was  taken  from  sawa  (burnt),  coo  (pine),  and  auke 
(a  place)  :  they  dwelt  mostly  upon  Saco  River,  in 
the  county  of  York,  Me.  And  the  Amariscog- 
gins  —  derived. from  mamaos  (fish),  kees  (high),  and 
auke  (a  place)  —  had  their  dwelling-places  and  hunt- 
ing-grounds upon  the  Amariscoggin  River,  which 
took  its  rise  in  the  New-Hampshire  hills,  and  empties 
its  waters  into  the  Kennebec." 

All  the  tribes  of  the  interior,  as  contradistin- 
guished from  those  near  to  the  shores  of  the  sea, 
were  known  and  designated  in  Indian  parlance  as 
Nipmucks,  or  fresh- water  Indians.  "  Nipmuck  is  de- 
rived from  nipe  (still  water),  and  auke  (a  place), 
with  the  letter  '  m '  thrown  in  for  the  sake  of  the 
euphony." 

Northerly,  and  yet  on  the  south  side  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  River,  there  were  tribes  in  the  early  days 


INDIAN   NATIONS,  —  SMALL. 

of  New  England  who  were  denominated 
Indians,  to  wit,  —  Delorette,  a  very  small  tribe  a  little 
below  Quebec  ;  Wanonoaks,  on  the  River  Besancourt, 
or  Puante,  over  against  Les  Trois  Rivieres,  not  ex- 
ceeding forty  fighting  men  ;  about  ten  leagues  higher 
was  the  tribe  Areusiguntecook,  on  the  River  St. 
Francois,  about  a  hundred  and  sixty  fighting  men  ; 
on  the  east  side  of  Lake  Champlain  was  the  tribe 
of  Mesiassuck,  sixty  fighting  men ;  a  little  above 
Montreal  were  the  Kabnuagas,  about  eighty  men, 
being  a  parcel  of  idle  "  ave  Maria  "  praying  In- 
dians, runaways  from  the  New- York  Mohawks 
and  River  Indians.  "  They  swallowed  their  flesh 
and  fish  raw,  and  went  naked,  or  covered  with  seal 
and  other  skins.  They  were  in  small  clans,  very 
idle,  much  dispersed,  and  of  no  great  benefit  to  trade 
or  to  the  world." 

Douglas  says  the  northern  tribes  were  small  and 
distinct.  A  large  parcel  of  land  lying  waste,  in 
winter  countries,  for  many  months  in  the  year,  not 
fertile  and  not  cleared  of  wood,  cannot  subsist  many 
people ;  but  these  small  tribes,  though  much  dispersed, 
were  allied  by  contiguity,  language,  and  intermar- 
riages. "  Thus  it  is  with  our  neighboring  Abna- 
quies,  who  border  upon  New  England  ;  the  Iroquois, 
or  Mohawks,  who  border  upon  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Virginia  ;  and  the  Chirakees,  who  border 


38  NEW    ENGLAND. 

upon  Carolina.  These  may  be  called  three  distinct 
nations."* 

Other  distinct  tribes  were  also  to  be  found  then 
or  later.  In  Connecticut  were  what  were  called  the 
Pequots,  the  Quinrripiaes,  the  Tunxis,  and  the  Ham- 
monassets.  In  Maine  the  Etecliemins  dwelt  farthest 
towards  the  East :  and  the  Abenaquis,  of  whom  the 
Terratines  were  a  part,  hunted  on  both  sides  of  the 
Penobscot ;  and  at  one  time  their  boundaries  ex- 
tended from  the  English  settlements  on  the  Atlantic 
shore  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  Lake  Champlain,  and  to 
the  Rivers  Hudson  and  St..  Lawrence.  The  Indian 
population  in  New  England  at  the  begirining  of  its 
settlement  by  the  English  has  been  estimated  at 
about  fifty  thousand,  at  which  time  the  District  of 
Maine  contained  about  one-fourth  part,  and  Con- 
necticut and  Rhode  Island  about  one-half. 

The  Pakanokets,  or  Wampanaogs,  hunted  in  South- 
eastern Massachusetts,  near  Buzzard's  and  Narragan- 
set  Bays  ;  the  Narragansets,  in  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  and  some  of  them  along  the  banks  of  the 
Thames  ;  and  the  Mohegans  at  or  near  the  shores  of 
the  Connecticut  River.  The  Wamesets  had  a  village 
dwelling-place  in  Wamesit,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Concord  and  Merrimack  Rivers,  now  Lowell,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  Eliot  often  preached  to  the  tribes  of 
Wonalancet. 

*  Douglas  wrote  in  1749. 


POPULATION   OF   NATIONS.  39 

TRIBES  ORIGINALLY. 

In  Bible  history,  it  appears,  all  mankind  anciently 
lived  in  small  tribes.  Abraham  and  his  allies  could 
muster  only  three  hundred  and  eighteen  men  :  with 
these  he  defeated  four  great  kings  who  had  con- 
quered several  kings. 

"  Where  lands  lie  not  cultivated,  the  Tribes  must 
necessarily  be  small." 

"  From  a  country  thus  reduced  to  a  small  stock 
we  may  investigate  the  various  degrees  of  civil  gov- 
ernment. At  first  they  were  only  distinct  Families 
left  isolated,  and  their  government  was  patriarchal ; 
that  is,  by  heads  of  families.  These  heads  of  fami- 
lies soon  became  acquainted  and  neighborly,  and  for 
mutual  protection  and  good  neighborhood  entered 
into  associations  by  us  called  Tribes,  Cantons,  or 
Clans  ;  and  several  of  these  Tribes,  upon  suspicion  of 
some  ambitious  design  of  some  neighboring  powerful 
Tribes,  for  their  better  defence  were  obliged  to  enter 
into  a  federal  Union,  and  at  length  were  incorpo- 
rated into  one  general  direction  called  a  Nation  or 
Empire.  Perhaps  we  may  suppose  that  such  were 
the  empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru." 

FEW  AND  FEEBLE. 

Douglas  also  says  that  the  Europeans,  on  account 
of  their  disparity  of  numbers,  never  could  have  sue- 


40  NEW    ENGLAND. 

ceeded  in  their  settlement  here,  if  the  tribes  (many  of 
them)  had  not  joined  them  by  reason  of  hostilities 
among  themselves.  Thus  Cortez  in  Mexico  was  assist- 
ed by  several  of  the  disaffected  tribes ;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  Massasoit 
was  made  formidable  as  against  the  Narragansets  by 
the  use  of  fire-arms  obtained  from  the  English. 

A  Spanish  bishop  of  the  West  Indies,  a  man  of 
observation,  many  years  ago  wrote  as  follows :  "  The 
Indians  are  of  a  tender  constitution.  No  part  of 
Europe  was  more  populous  than  Mexico  upon  the 
Spaniards'  first  arrival  there.  The  Spaniards  in  the 
first  forty  years  destroyed  about  twenty  millions  of 
them.  They  left  but  a  few  Indians  in  Hispaniola, 
none  upon  Cuba,  Jamaica,  Bahama  Islands,  Porto 
Rico,  and  Caribee  Islands,  excepting  upon  Domi- 
nica and  St.  Vincent,  where  they  remain  to  this  day." 

THEIR  FOOD,  AND   MODE  OF  LIVING. 

"  Our  Indians  do  not  imitate  the  Bees,  Ants, 
&c.,  in  laying  up  Stores,  but,  like  rapacious  ani- 
mals, live  from  Hand  to  Mouth :  after  long  Fasting 
they  are  voracious,  and  upon  a  Glutonous  Repast 
can  fast  many  Days  by  bracing  in  or  reefing  their 
Girdles  or  Belts. 

"  The  far  North  Indians  of  West  Greenland,  Terra 
dc  Labarador,  &c.,  live  upon  the  Blubber  of  Whales, 


INDIAN  MODE   OF   SUBSISTENCE.  41 

Seals,  and  other  Fish;  and  their  most  generous  Bev- 
erage is  Fish-Oil :  scarce  any  Quadrupids  or  Fowls, 
not  only  from  the  Severity  and  long  Continuance  of 
their  cold  Weather,  Frost  and  Snow,  but  also 
because  their  Meadows  and  other  Lands  instead  of 
Grass  and  other  Herbage  bear  only  Moss. 

"  The  Indians  in  the  more  moderate  Climates  live  by 
Hunting,  Fowling,  and  Fish.  They  do  not  clear  and 
cultivate  the  Forest  by  planting  and  grazing :  lately 
some  of  their  Squaas  or  Women  improve  in  planting 
of  Mays  and  Indian  Beans.  Their  Bread  Kind  are 
Mays  or  Indian  Corn,  Phaseolus  Kidney  or  Indian 
Beans,  several  Sorts  of  tuberous  Roots  called 
Ground  Nuts,  several  Sorts  of  Berries,  particularly 
several  Sorts  of  Vitis  Idea  in  New  England  called 
Huckle-Berries.  Upon  a  continued  March,  where 
Hunting  and  Fowling  is  inconsiderable,  they  carry 
with  them  for  subsistence  parched  Indian  Corn, 
called  No-cake. 

"  The  Abnaquies,  or  New  England  Northern  and 
Eastern  Indians,  because  of  the  Hunting  and  Fowl- 
ing failing,  during  the  Winter  are  obliged  to  remove 
to  the  Sea-side,  and  live  upon  Clams,  Bass,  Sturgeons, 
&o, 

"  Their  -medical  Practice  resembles  that  of  officious 
old  Women  in  some  remote  Country  Villages  of 
Europe,  — meer  Empiricism,  or,  rather,  a  traditionary 


42  NEW   ENGLAND. 

blind  Practice :  they  regard  only  the  Symptoms  that 
strike  the  gross  Senses  most,  without  Respect  to  any 
less  obvious  principal  Symptom  which  may  be  called 
the  Disease,  or  to  Constitution,  Sex,  and  Age. 

INDIAN  LANGUAGE. 

"Their  Manner  of  Expression  is  vehement  and 
emphatick :  their  Ideas  being  few,  their  Language  is 
not  copious :  it  consists  only  of  a  few  Words,  and 
many  of  these  ill  contrived :  by  a  rumbling  Noise  or 
Sound  of  many  syllables  they  express  an  Idea  or 
Thing  which  in  the  European  Language  is  done  by 
a  Syllable  or  two. 

"  As  their  Ideas  increase,  they  are  obliged  to  adopt 
the  European  Words  of  adjoining  Colonies. 

"  In  numbering  they  use  the  same  natural  Way  of 
reckoning  by  Tens,  as  in  Europe,  Ten  being  the 
Number  of  humane  Fingers. 

"No  Cronocles,  scarce  any  traditionary  accounts 
of  Things  extending  back  further  than  two  or  three 
.Generations :  scarce  any  Indians  can  tell  their  own 
Age. 

"  They  had  no  Characters,  that  is,  Hieroglyphics  or 
Letters  :  they  had  a  few  symbols  or  signatures,  as  if 
in  a  Heraldry  Way  to  distinguish  Tribes :  the  princi- 
pal were  the  Tortois,  the  Bear,  the  Wolf. 

"  There  was  not  the  least  Vestage  of  Letters  in 


INDIANS   MADE  NO  LETTERS.  43 

America.  Some  years  since  a  certain  credulous  Per- 
son and  voluminous  Author  imposed  upon  himself 
and  others :  he  observed  in  a  tiding  River  a  Rock, 
which,  as  it  was  not  of  uniform  Substance,  the  ebb- 
ing and  the  flowing  of  the  Tide  made  a  Sort  of  ver- 
mulure,  Honey-combing  or  etching  on  its  Face :  here 
he  immagined  that  he  had  discovered  the  America 
Indian  Characters,  and,  overjoyed,  remits  some  lines 
of  his  imaginary  Characters  to  the  Royal  Society  in 
London.  See  Philosophical  Transactions,  No.  389. 

"  '  At  Taunton  by  the  Side  of  a  tiding  River,  Part 
in,  Part  out,  of  the  River,  there  is  a  large  Rock,  on 
the  perpendicular  Side  of  which,  next  to  the  Stream, 
are  7  or  8  Lines  about  7  or  8  feet  long,  and  about  a 
Foot  wide  each  of  them,  engraven  with  unaccount- 
able Characters  not  like  any  known  Character.' 

"  This  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  written 
Anno  1714.  At  present  (Anno  1747)  by  the  con- 
tinued ebbing  and  flowing,  the  Honey-combing  is  so 
altered  as  not  in  the  least  to  resemble  his  Draught 
of  the  Characters. 

"  As  the  Indians  were  so  rude  as  to  have  no  letters 
or  other  Characters,  there  is  no  certain  Way  of 
writing  their  Names  of  Things :  all  we  can  do  is  to 
express  their  Sounds  or  Pronunciations  as  near  as 
may  be  in  our  own  letters. 

"  Father  llalle  of  Norridgwog,  and  some  other  scol- 


44  NEW    ENGLAND. 

astick  French  Missionaries,  have  imagined  that  the 
G-reek  Alphabet  suits  their  Pronunciation  best. 

"  The  Indians  have  a  figurative  Way  of  expressing 
themselves,  as  if  in  Hieroglyphics :  thus,  renewing  of 
Alliances  they  call  brightening  of  the  Chain. 

"  There  is  no  general  fixed  Way  of  Writing  Indian 
Words ;  therefore  we  shall  not  mind  any  particular 
Orthography  in  that  Respect ;  only  we  shall  endea- 
vour to  be  understood.  For  Instance :  the  'Indian 
Tribe  upon  Quenebeck  River  in  Neiv  England,  we 
write  and  pronounce  it  Naridgwoag :  the  French  Mis- 
sionaries write  it  Narautsoack. 

'*  The  Tribe  of  the  Iroquois,  or  five  New  York 
allied  Indian  Nations,  which  we  call  Sennekas,  the 
French  call  them  Sonontouans. 

"  There  is  not  the  same  Reason  for  preserving  the 
Indian  Names  of  their  Countries,  Nations,  Tribes, 
Mountains,  and  Rivers,  as  there  is  for  preserving  the 
G-reek,  Roman,  and  other  more  modern  Names  of 
such  Things  in  Europe.  The  Indians  have  no  civil 
or  classical  History  to  require  it. 

The  Indians  change  their  own  personal  Names,  and 
the  Names  of  other  Things  upon  trifling  occasions. 

"  Our  Indians  affect  to  have  English  Names  :  thus 
Massasoit's  two  Sons  desired  of  the  Court  at  Ply- 
mouth to  give  them  English  Names:  they  were 
accordingly  named  Alexander  and  Philip. 


INDIANS   IN   BATTLE.  45 

"  This  Philip,  formerly  Metacomet,  was  Chief  in  a 
subsequent  Indian  War  called  King  Philip' 's  War. 

"  Capt.  Smith  the  Traveller  resided  19  years  in 
Virginia  and  New  England,  and  wrote  a  History  of 
those  Parts,  Anno  1624:  he  enumerates  the  Names 
of  many  Tribes,  Rivers,  and  other  Things,  which  are 
now  irrecoverably  lost. 

"As  the  Indian's  Dealings  and  mutual  Corre- 
spondence are  much  confined,  their  several  Lan- 
guages '  are  of  small  extent.'  " 

Mr.  Douglas,  who  was  alive  in  1747,  adds  to  the 
foregoing  the  following :  — 

"  Mr.  Eliot,  formerly  Minister  of  Roxbury,  adjoin- 
ing Boston,  with  immense  Labor  translated  and 
printed  our  Bible  into  Indian :  it  was  done  with  a 
good  pious  Design,  but  must  be  reckoned  among  the 
"  Otiosorum  hominum  negotia ;  "  it  was  done  in  the 
Natick  Language.  Of  the  Naticks  at  present  there 
are  not  twenty  Families  subsisting,  and  scarce  any 
of  these  can  read  :  Cui  Bono  ?  " 

THEIR  MODE   OP  ATTACK. 

When  the  Indians  go  to  battle  they  seldom  make 
an  attack  in  large  bodies.  After  a  general  rendez- 
vous, the}r  divide  into  small  skulking  parties  (their 
common  unvarying  art  of  war  was  in  the  hidden  effi- 
ciency of  small  parties)  ;  and  like  carnivorous  beasts 


46  NEW    ENGLAND. 

of  the  forest  they  advanced  to  the  onset,  laying  waste 
dwelling-houses,  and  committing  cruel  murders  with- 
out regard  to  justice,  honor,  age,  or  sex. 

As  formerly  among  the  Israelites,  so  it  was  in  the 
early  days  of  the  New  England  settlements :  a  saga- 
more was  considered  as  a  mighty  prince  who  could 
lead  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  fighting  men.  He 
prided  himself  in  the  loss  of  ten  or  twelve  men  as 
the  sure  and  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  bloody 
battle. 

In  the  first  instances  their  weapons  of  war  were 
arrows  and  darts;  but  latterly  they  had  obtained 
and  used  the  deadly  musket,  fusils,  the  hatchet,  and 
long,  sharp-pointed  knives. 


CHAPTER  III. 


INDIAN  WARS. 


No  Record  here  Anterior  to  the  Advent  of  Drake. — No  Serious 
Trouble  for  Twenty-eight  Years.  — In  1(514  Hunt  kidnaps  and 
sells  Twenty  Indians.  —  It  troubles  the  Adventurers.  —  The  War 
and  the  Plague  of  1016  and  1617.  —Bones  on  the  Battle-Grounds.  — 
Tisquantmn  (Squanto).  —  Pilgrims  land.  —  First  ftidian  Insurrec- 
tion. —  The  War-Whoop.  —Their  Wood-Cry  —  Samoset  greets  the 
Pilgrims.  —  His  Personal  Appearance  and  Discourse.  —  Tarried  at 
Night,  and  left  them  in  the  Morning.— Pilgrims  feed  the  Indians.— 
Indians  sang  and  danced.  — Painted  Faces.  — First  Treaty. —  Mas- 
sasoit  with  Sixty  Warriors  meets  Gov.  Carver  and  his  Suite. 


I/AVING  already  glanced  at  the  land- 
scape of  New  England  as  it  appeared 
prior  to  its  becoming  a  general  battle-field ; 
and  having  made  allusion  to  the  nature 
and  habits  of  the  native  Indian,  and  of 
his  tribes,  their  various  locations,  hunting-grounds, 
and  fishing-places, — I  come  next  to  notice  the  barbar- 
ous conflicts  which  from  time  to  time  happened 
among  themselves. 

This  branch  of  our  New-England  annals  must 
necessarily  be  brief,  —  brief  from  the  fact  that  the 
natives  were  entirely  unlettered,  with  a  language 
somewhat  vague,  yet  curious  and  comprehensive, 


48  INDIAN   WARS. 

and  up  to  that  day  almost  undefined,  and  entirely 
unwritten.  They  could  have  no  record,  historic  or 
otherwise  ;  and  none  existed. 

Hence,  as  we  have  hinted,  the  bloody  conflicts  that 
would  have  stained  these  pages,  of  the  years  and  the 
ages  that  had  transpired  anterior  to  the  advent  of  Sir 
Francis  Drake,  had  entirely  vanished  from  earthly 
vision ;  so  that  in  history  these,  as  well  as  the  events 
of  peace,  of  love,  or  of  joy  among  the  tribes,  as  from 
time  immemorial  they  had  alternated,  are  all  covered  of 
oblivion,  and  can  have  no  place  in  these  our  epics. 
In  all  that  history,  if  we  and  the  world  had  it,  how 
much  there  would  be  to  be  learned  from  it !  How 
much  to  amuse,  how  much  to  improve  us,  how  much 
of  love,  and  how  much  of  anger  or  of  wrath  at  which 
earth  might  be  made  sad,  is  now  and  forever  to 
remain  a  mystery  ! 

Since  that  day  (1586)  the  red  man  in  New  England 
has  had  a  history.  A  history  varied,  as  the  impulses 
of  the  human  temper  is  various,  where,  in  the  end, 
the  wrath  of  man  has  been  suffered  to  achieve  a  mas- 
tery over  his  better  nature ;  and  where,  from  the  want 
of  caution  and  culture,  the  inheritance  of  an  entire 
nationality  has  been  lost,  almost  entirely  through 
its  common  frailties,  and  through  its  mad,  ill-advised, 
unbridled  ambition. 

Prior  to  1615  the  history  of  Indian  conflicts  among 


MATTEKS  AMONG   THEMSELVES.  49 

themselves  remains,  as  forever  it  must,  almost  entirely 
unrecorded.  Up  to  that  period  very  little,  if  any 
thing,  had  occurred  to  create  any  conflict  between 
the  exploring,  occasional  adventurer  and  the  native 
Indian  or  his  tribe,  as  each  party  at  that  time  was 
mutually  interested  in  the  novelty  of  the  occasion,  as 
well  as  in  the  traffic  which  from  time  to  time  tended 
in  its  promises  to  afford  aid  and  sustenance  to  both 
nationalities.  The  first  trouble  between  the  tribes 
and  the  adventurers  arose  in  manner  as  follows  :  — 

Twenty-eight  years  after  the  advent  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  to  wit,  in  1614,  Captain  John  Smith  sailed 
along  the  New-England  shore,  surveying  its  coast 
from  the  Penobscot.  to  Cape  Cod.  At  this  time  he 
discovered  the  river  Piscataqua.  One  of  his  ships  he 
left  behind  him  in  the  care  of  one  THOMAS  HUNT, 
who,  forgetting  his  manhood,  if  he  ever  had  any, 
decoyed  on  board  it  about  twenty  of  the  native 
Indians,  kidnapped  and  carried  them  to  Malaga,  and 
sold  them  into  slavery  to  the  Spaniards. 

This  infamous  outrage  of  course  excited  dread 
animosity  in  the  tribes,  and  greatly  enraged  them 
against  Hunt,  engendering  in  their  minds  hatred  and 
distrust  towards  succeeding  adventurers.  Some  of 
those  captives,  however,  through  the  friendly  inter- 
position of  one  Capt.  John  Mason  and  others,  found 
their  way  back  to  the  tribes ;  and  peace  again  was 


50  INDIAN  WARS. 

restored.  This  was  the  act  of  ONE  white  English  man, 
wherein  and  whereby  the  peace"  and  well-being  of 
many  honest,  generous  explorers  and  settlers  suffered, 
and  in  many  instances  lives  were  lost.  Yet  such  per- 
fidious acts  by  the  first  explorers  here  must  have  been 
few ;  for  this  is  the  only  outrage  of  the  kind  which  is 
noted  in  the  history  of  that  time  ;  and  thereafter- 
wards  peace,  being  declared,  prevailed  for  many  years 
between  the  red  man  and  his  more  discreet  and 
peaceable  neighbors.  But  in  about  two  years  (1616) 
the  first  and  most  terrible  war  among  and  between 
the  tribes  themselves,  of  which  we  have  any  account, 
broke  out.  As  it  appears,  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
Tarratines  came  down  upon  the  Patuxets,  the  Nar- 
ragansets,  and  other  neighboring  tribes,  and  the  battle 
was  terrible  ;  also  the  plague  of  1617,  raging  at  the 
same  time,  made  sad  havoc  upon  the  red  men :  so 
that  of  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Patuxets, 
not  one  of  them  remained  alive  save  their  chief, 
Squanto,  Tisquantum.  The  bones  of  the  slain  at  that 
time  almost  everywhere  were  seen  by  the  Pilgrims, 
—  around  the  sickly  wigwam,  in  and  about  the 
numerous  Indian  battle-grounds  of  New  England, 
on  the  hills,  in  the  valleys,  on  the  margin  of  the 
lakes,  by  the  side  of  the  beautiful  river,  and  along 
the  shores  of  the  sea. 
This  was  the  first  and  last  of  all  the  bloody  bat- 


MATTERS   AMOXG  THEMSELVES.  51 

ties  in  New  England  of  importance,  of  which  we 
have  any  account,  from  the  beginning  of  the  New 
World  up  to  the  advent  of  the  Pilgrims. 

Tisquantum,  above  named,  as  appears,  was  one  of 
the  same  twenty  Indians  who  had  been  kidnapped 
by  Hunt,  and  sold  into  slavery  to  the  Spaniards.  It 
further  appears  that  he  soon  in  some  way  escaped 
from  Spain,  and  afterwards  for  a  considerable  time 
sojourned  in  London  with  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Slaine,  learned  something  of  our  language  there ; 
but  at  length,  through  the  aid  of  the  master  of  a 
ship,  by  the  name  of  Dermer,  he  found  his  way  back 
to  New  England;  and  upon  his  arrival  became  a 
great  chief  among  the  Patuxets.  But  alas !  when 
the  Pilgrims  arrived,  his  tribe,  as  we  have  said,  were 
dead ;  and  Tisquantum  (Squanto)  was  alone. 

From  my  "  Merrimack,"  page  23,  I  here  insert  a 
brief  recapitulation,  in  which  allusion  is  made  to  the 
arrival  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  their  intimate  friendli- 
nesc  with 

TISQUANTUM. 

Columbus  first  of  all ;  then  many  more 
Within  a  hundred  years  then  next  before 
The  Pilgrims  land,  —  adventurers  indeed, 
From  Adam  sprung,  juniors  in  race  and  breed, 
But  versed  in  letters,  statute,  law,  and  art, 
Seniors  in  science,  just  in  head  and  heart. 


52  INDIAN  WARS. 

They  meet  old  Squanto  wandering  here  alone, 
Who,  sore  depressed,  bereaved  of  friends  and  home, 
Recounts  events  which  true  tradition  brought 
Of  Indian  life,  what  sad  experience  taught,  — 
How  far  and  near  the  dead  unburied  lay, 
His  own  Patuxet  tribe  all  swept  away ; 
Yet  nations  seaward,  deep  in  woods  afar, 
Spared  from  the  scourge  of  pestilence  and  war, 
Still  thrive.   There  Massasoit,  whose  power  maintains 
The  peace  of  tribes,  in  full  dominion  reigns. 

Tisquantum,  while  in  Spain  and  in  London,  had 
excited  the  curiosity  of  foreigners,  who  never  before 
had  seen  a  red  man,  and  who  inclined  to  gaze  at  him 
as  a  choice  production  of  the  New  World. 

The  Pilgrims,  at  their  landing  Dec.  11  (O.  S.),  1620, 
forty-one  in  all,  very  soon  fell  in  with  this  extraor- 
dinary personage,  who,  through  his  familiarity  in  con- 
versations with  Englishmen  in  London  while  there, 
had  obtained  some  knowledge  of  our  language. 
They  of  course  soon  sought  him  out,  and  made  him 
their  interpreter. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  the  same  month,  four  days 
after  their  arrival  here,  they  discovered  five  or  six 
Indians  approaching  their  encampments ;  but  upon 
seeing  the  Pilgrims  they  appeared  frightened  at  their 
friendly  attempt  to  approach  them,  and  fled. 


MATTERS   AMONG  THEMSELVES.  53 

FIRST  INDIAN  INSURRECTION. 

On  the  15th  of  November,  1620,  as  a  Pilgrim  of 
the  forest  relates  it,  "  We  went  ranging  up  and 
down  till  the  sun  began  to  draw  low;  and  then  we 
hasted  out  of  the  woods,  that  we  might  come  to  our 
shallop. 

"  By  that  time  we  had  done,  and  our  shallop  came 
to  us,  it  was  within  night,  and  we  betook  us  to  our 
rest  after  we  had  set  our  watch. 

"  About  midnight  we  heard  a  great  and  hideous 
cry,  and  our  sentinel  called  '  ARM  !  ARM  ! ' 

"  So  we  bestirred  ourselves,  and  shot  off  a  couple 
of  muskets." 

"  About  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Dec.  8,  we 
heard  a  great  and  strange  cry,  which  we  knew  to  be 
the  same  voice,  though  they  varied  their  notes." 

"  One  of  our  men,  being  abroad,  came  running  in, 
and  cried,  '  They  are  men !  Indians !  Indians  ! '  And 
their  arrows  came  flying  amongst  us." 

THE   WAR- WHOOP. 

It  was  here  at  Namskekat  that  the  Pilgrims  first 
heard  the  terrible  war-whoop  cry  of  the  savage, 
which  from  time  immemorial  to  the  present  day  in  its 
startling  vociferations  has  remained  invariably  the 
same.  They  do  not  move  at  the  sound  of  the 
drum  or  trumpet.  They  rally  at  the  cry,  — 


54  INDIAN  WARS. 

WOACH  !       WOACH  !       HA  —  HA  —  HA  —  HACK  — 

WOACH !     And  their  wood-cry  is  ro —  HAU  ! 

The  Pilgrims  represented  the  CEY  as  terrible : 
the  Indian  arrows  came  flying  in  among  them,  of 
which  they  afterwards  picked  up  eighteen,  which 
they  sent  to  their  friends  in  England,  on  the  return 
of  "  The  Mayflower."  One  savage  fought  from  behind 
a  tree ;  and  an  old  Pilgrim  had  three  shots  at  him 
with  a  musket :  at  the  last  the  scamp  gave  an  extraor- 
dinary yell,  and  away  they  all  went  in  a  hurry. 

Some  of  those  arrows  were  curiously  headed  with 
hart's  horn,  others  with  eagle's  claws. 

Whether  any  of  the  savages  were  slain  or  seri- 
ously injured  in  this  first  brief  conflict  does  not  ap- 
pear. This  was  by  the  Nauset  Indians,  of  whom  As- 
pinet  was  chief. 

Since  their  arrival  on  the  llth  of  November,  they, 
as  appears,  had  for  the  most  part  made  the  ship  their 
abode  up  to  the  llth  of  December,  when  they 
landed. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  famous  chief  Sam- 
osvt,  then  and  there,  upon  the  shore  of  Cape  Cod, 
came  forth  from  the  wilderness,  and  extended  to 
them  the  friendly  cry,  "  Welcome,  Inglislimen  !  *  In 
my  "  Merrimack,"  page  24,  mention  is  made  as  fol- 
lows of  this 


SAMOSET  AND  PIUJHIMS,  j-ago  54. 


MATTERS   AMONG   THEMSELVES.  55 

SAGAMORE. 

From  thence  SAMOSET  comes  with  heart  and  hand 

To  welcome  Englishmen,  and  grant  them  land ; 

His  visage  dark,  with  long  and  raven  hair, 

No  treacherous  marks  Ms  beardless  features  bear, 

His  frame  erect,  and  strangely  painted  o'er, 

Belted  around  his  loins ;  a  sagamore, 

Whose  bony  arm  a  bow  and  arrow  held, 

A  heart  unsoiled  his  tawny  bosom  swelled 

To  generous  deeds.     He  broken  English  spake, 

And  talked  anon  of  men,  of  Francis  Drake, 

That  gallant  white  man,  years  before  who  came, 

And  gave  New  Albion  her  historic  name ; 

Of  Captain  Smith,  who  since  surveyed  the  coast, 

And  other  voyagers,  now  a  scattered  host ; 

Of  former  days  some  history  tried  to  give, 

And  "  lay  of  land  "  where  rambling  red  men  live. 

Truthful  Samoset  proves,  and  seeks  to  bring 

The  Pilgrim  saints  in  audience  with  his  king. 

This  interview  of  Samoset  with  the  Pilgrims  was 
on  the  16th  of  March,  1621 ;  and  Mourt  says  he  very 
boldly  came  all  alone,  and  along  the  houses  straight 
to  the  rendezvous,  where  he  intercepted  him,  not  suf- 
fering him  to  go  in,  as  undoubtedly  he  would,  out  of 
his  boldness.  He  was  naked :  "  on]y  a  leather  about 
his  waist,  with  a  fringe  about  a  span  long." 


56  INDIAN  WAES. 

It  was  cold  weather ;  and  the  PILGRIMS  "  cast  a 
horseman's  coat  about  him."  In  his  kindness  Samoset 
gave  them,  as  well  as  he  could,  much  valuable  infor- 
mation. He,  as  they  said,  had  learned  some  broken 
English  of  adventurers  who  had  come  to  fish  at 
Wouhiggan,  and  knew  by  name  most  of  the  captains, 
masters,  or  commanders  who  had  visited  here.  He 
was  free  in  speech  so  far  as  he  was  able  to  talk  our 
language.  The  Pilgrims  "  questioned  him  of  many 
things ; "  and  they  say  "  he  was  the  first  savage  we 
could  meet  withal" 

He  told  them  "  he  was  not  of  those  parts,  but  of 
Moratiggon,  and  one  of  the  sagamores  or  lords  there- 
of; had  been  eight  months  in  these  parts ;  it  lying 
hence  to  the  eastward  a  day's  sail  with  a  great  wind, 
and  five  days  by  land."  "  He  discoursed  of  the  whole 
country  and  of  every  province,  and  of  their  saga- 
mores, their  number  of  men,  and  strength ; "  had  a 
bow  and  two  arrows,  one  headed,  and  the  other  not. 
*'  He  was  tall  and  straight ;  hair  black,  long  behind, 
short  before,  none  at  all  on  his  face."  "  He  asked  for 
some  beer;  but  we  (as  they  say)  gave  him  strong 
water  and  biscuit  and  cheese  and  pudding,  and  a 
piece  of  a  mallard,  all  which  he  liked  well." 

He  told  us  "  the  place  where  he  now  lives  is  called 
Patuxet ;  and  that  about  four  years  ago  jail  the  inhab- 
itants died  of  an  extraordinary  plague,  and  there  is 
neither  man,  woman,  nor  child  remaining,  as  indeed, 


MATTERS  AMONG  THEMSELVES.        57 

we  have  found  none  ;  so  there  is  none  to  hinder  our 
possession,  or  lay  claim  unto  it." 

"All  the  afternoon  we  spent  in  communication 
with  him  :  we  would  have  gladly  been  rid  of  him  at 
night,  but  he  was  not  willing  to  go  this  night. 

"  Then  we  thought  to  carry  him  on  shipboard, 
wherewith  he  was  well  content,  and  went  into  the 
shallop  ;  but  the  wind  was  high  and  the  water  scant, 
that  it  could  not  return  back. 

"  We  lodged  (with  him)  at  Stephen  Hopkins' 
house,  and  watched  him." 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  Pilgrims  should  have 
been  here  so  long  without  a  friendly  interview  with 
the  tribes  previously  to  this  with  Samoset.  But  it 
will  be  remembered  that  the  war  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  and  the  plague  of  which  Samoset  here 
speaks,  had  destroyed  almost  all ;  and  that  these  rem- 
nants of  tribes  most  likely  had  been  made  coy  from 
the  fact,  that,  at  their  onset  upon  the  Pilgrims,  on 
the  night  of  the  7th  of  December  then  last,  they, 
perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives,  had  been 
made  to  "  smell  gunpowder." 

"Samoset  left  Plimouth  the  next  morning  to 
return  to  Massasoit,  who,  he  said,  was  a  sachem 
having  under  him  sixty  men." 

"  The  English,  having  left  some  tools  exposed  in 
the  woods,  on  finding  that  they  were  missing,  rightly 
judged  the  Indians  had  taken  them." 


58  INDIAN  WAES. 

"  They  complained  of  this  to  Samoset  in  rather  a 
threatening  air.  We  willed  him  (they  say)  that 
,  they  should  be  brought  again,  otherwise  we  would 
right  ourselves." 

When  he  left  them  "  he  promised  within  a  night 
or  two  to  come  again,"  and  bring  some  of  Massasoit's 
men  to  trade  with  them  in  beaver-skins. 

MODE  OF  DKESS. 

As  good  as  his  word,  Samoset  came  the  next  Sun- 
day, "  and  brought  with  him  five  other  tall,  proper 
men.  They  had  every  man  a  deer's  skin  on  him; 
and  the  principal  of  them  had  a  wildcat's  skin,  or 
such  like,  on  one  arm.  They  had  most  of  them  long 
hosen  up  to  their  groins,  close-made ;  and  about 
their  groins,  to  their  waist,  another  leather ;  they 
were  altogether  like  the  Irish  trousers.  They  are  of 
complexion  like  our  English  gypsies ;  no  hair,  or 
very  little,  on  their  faces ;  on  their  heads  long  hair 
to  their  shoulders,  only  cut  before  ;  some  trussed 
up  before  with  a  feather,  broadwise  like  a  fan; 
another  a  fox-tail  hanging  out." 

The  English  had  charged  Samoset  not  to  let  any 
who  came  with  him  bring  their  arms ;  these,  there- 
fore, left  "  their  bows  and  arrows  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  our  town." 

"  We  gave  them  entertainment  as  we  thought  was 
fitting  them.  They  did  eat  liberally  of  our  English 


MATTERS   AMONG  THEMSELVES.  59 

victuals,"  and  appeared  very  friendly ;  "  sang  and 
danced  after  their  manner,  like  anticks."  Some  of 
them  had  their  faces  painted  black  from  the  fore- 
head to  the  chin,  four  or  five  fingers  broad :  others 
after  other  fashions,  as  they  liked.  They  brought 
three  or  four  skins ;  but  we  would  not  truck  with 
them  all  that  day,  but  wished  them  to  bring  mere, 
and  we  would  truck  for  all,  which  they  promised 
within  a  night  or  two,  and  would  leave  theso  behind 
them,  though  we  were  not  willing  they  should ;  and 
they  brought  all  our  tools  again,  which  were  taken 
in  the  woods  in  our  absence. 

"  So,  because  of  the  day  (Sunday),  we  dismissed 
them  so  soon  as  we  could.  But  Samoset,  our  first 
acquaintance,  either  was  sick  or  feigned  himself  so, 
and  would  not  go  with  them,  and  staid  with  us  till 
Wednesday  morning. 

"  Then  we  sent  him  to  them,  to  know  the  reason 
they  came  not  according  to  their  words ;  and  we 
gave  him  a  hat,  a  pair  of  stockings  and  shoes,  a  shirt, 
and  a  piece  of  cloth  to  tie  about  his  waist." 

SAMOSET  returned  again  the  next  day,  bringing 
with  him  Squanto,  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter. 
He  was  "  the  only  native  [says  Mourt's  Kelation] 
of  Patuxet,  where  we  now  inhabit,  who  was  one  of 
the  twenty  (or  twenty-four)  captives  that  by  Hunt 
were  carried  away,  and  had  been  in  England,  and 
dwelt  in  Cornhill  with  Master  John  Slaine,  a  mer- 


(JO  INDIAN  WARS. 

chant,  and  could  speak  a  little  English  with  three 
others." 

They  brought  a  few  articles  for  trade;  but  the 
most  important  was,  "that  their  great  sagamore, 
Massasoit,  was  hard  by,"  whose  introduction  to  them 
accordingly  followed. 

In  June,  1621,  a  boy,  John  Billington,  having  been 
lost  in  the  woods,  several  English,  with  Squanto  and 
Tokamahamon,  undertook  a  voyage  to  Nauset  in 
search  of  him.  Squanto  was  their  interpreter. 

FIRST  TREATY. 

On  March  22,  1621,  Samoset  and  Squanto  brought 
to  Plymouth  the  welcome  news  that  Massasoit  of 
Pokanoket,  their  chief,  was  near  at  hand ;  and  "  they 
brought  with  them  [say  the  Pilgrims]  some  few 
skins  to  truck,  and  some  red  herrings  newly  taken 
and  dried,  but  not  salted,  and  signified  unto  us  that 
their  great  sagamore,  Massasoit,  was  hard  by  with 
Quadiquina  his  brother. 

"  They  could  not  well  say  what  they  would ;  but 
after  an  hour  the  king  came  to  the  top  of  an  hill 
[supposed  to  be  what  is  now  Watson's  Hill  on  the 
south  side  of  Town  Brook]  over  against  us,  and  had 
in  his  train  sixty  men,  that  we  could  well  behold 
them,  and  they  us." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


FIKST  TREATY. 

The  Tribes  greet  the  Pilgrims.  —  Governor  returns  Preset)*?  to 
Them.  —  Address  to  the  Natives. —The  Repast. —The  King's 
Dress.  —  His  Ornaments.  —  Hostages.  —  Savages  seated  on  the 
Floor.  —  Terms  of  their  Treaty.  —  Squanto  and  Samoset  are  their 
Interpreters.  -Death  of  Squanto. —His  Will.  —  His  Departure 
Poetized.  —  March  of  Civilization.  —Peace  Fifty  Years.  —Erup- 
tion between  the  Tribes.  —  Sachems  and  Sagamores,  Names  of,  in 
New  England.  —  An  Expedition  to  attack  the  Mohawks.  — 
Josias  leads.  —  Mascanonomo  degraded.  —  Battle  with  the  Mo- 
hawks. —  Tarratines  attack  his  House.  —  They  capture  his 
Squaw.  —  He  relents,  and  greets  the  English.  —  They  make  him 
Presents.  —  A  Land  Grant  to  his  Widow.  —  Canonicus.  —  His 
Exemplary,  Liberal  Life.  —  His  Peaceful  Death. 


were  not  willing,"  the  Pilgrims  say, 
"  to  send  our  governor  to  Massasoit  and 
his  tribe ;  and  they  were  unwilling  to 
come  to  us :  so  SQUANTO  went  again 
unto  him,  who  brought  word  that  we 
should  send  one  to  parley  with  him ;  and  we  sent 
Edward  Winslow,  to  know  his  intent,  and  to  signify 
the  mind  and  will  of  our  governor,  which  was  that 
we  might  have  trading  and  peace  with  them. 

"  We  sent  to  the  king  a  pair  of  knives,  and  a  cop- 
per chain  with  a  jewel  in  it.      To  Quadequina  we 

61 


62  INDIAN  WARS. 

sent  likewise  a  knife,  and  a  jewel  to  hang  in  his  ear, 
and  withal  a  pot  of  strong  water,  a  good  quantity  of 
biscuit,  and  some  butter,  which  were  all  willingly 
accepted. 

"  The  Englishman  then  made  a  speech  to  him  about 
his  king's  love  and  goodness  to  him  and  his  people, 
and  that  he  accept  of  him  as  his  friend  and  ally. 

"  He  liked  well  of  the  speech  (say  the  English), 
and  heard  it  attentively,  though  the  interpreters  did 
not  well  express  it. 

"  After  he  had  eaten  and  drunk  himself,  and  given 
the  rest  to  his  company,  he  looked  upon  our  mes- 
senger's sword  and  armor,  which  he  had  on,  with 
intimation  of  his  desire  to  buy  it ;  but,  on  the  other 
side,  our  messenger  showed  his  unwillingness  to  part 
with  it. 

"  In  the  end  he  left  him  in  the  custody  of  Quade- 
quina  his  brother,  and  came  over  the  brook,  and 
some  twenty  men  following  him.  •  We  kept  six  or 
seven  as  hostages  for  our  messenger."  As  Massasoit 
proceeded  to  meet  the  English,  they  met  him  with 
six  soldiers,  who  saluted  each  other.  Several  of  his 
men  were  with  him;  but  all  left  their  bows  and 
arrows  behind.  They  were  conducted  to  a  new 
house  which  was  partly  finished ;  and  a  green  rug 
was  spread  upon  the  floor,  and  several  cushions,  for 
Massasoit  and  his  chiefs  to  sit  down  upon. 


FIRST   TEEATY.  63 

Then  came  the  English  governor,  followed  by  a 
drummer  and  trumpeter  and  a  few  soldiers ;  and, 
after  kissing  one  another,  all  sat  down. 

Some  strong  water  being  brought,  the  governor 
drank  to  Massasoit,  who  in  his  turn  "  drank  a  great 
draught,  that  made  him  sweat  all  the  while  after." 

They  now  proceeded  to  make  a  treaty,  which  stipu- 
lated, that  neither  Massasoit  nor  any  of  his  people 
should  do  hurt  to  the  English  ;  and  that,  if  they  did, 
they  should  be  given  up  to  be  punished  by  them  ; 
and  that,  if  the  English  did  any  harm  to  him  or  any 
of  his  people,  they  (the  English)  would  do  the  like 
to  them  ;  that,  if  they  did  unjustly  war  against 
him,  the  English  were  to  aid  him ;  and  he  was  to  do 
the  same  in  his  turn ;  and  by  so  doing  King  James 
would  esteem  him  his  friend  and  ally. 

"All  whicn  [llicy  say]  the  king  seemed  to  like 
well ;  and  it  was  applauded  of  his  followers." 

THE  KING'S   APPAKEL. 

Then  Massasoit  the  king,  and  chiefs,  appear ; 
As  well  the  "  governor  and  suit "  draw  near, 
By  music  led,  and  soldiers  at  command, 
Clad  in  the  homespun  of  a  foreign  land, 
And  greet  the  king.     The  king  no  armor  bears, 
Save  on  his  breast  a  knife-like  weapon  wears, 


64  INDIAN  WARS. 

White  beads  about  his  neck,  a  gaudy  ring, 
And  quaint  tobacco-bag  suspended  by  a  string, 
Comprise  the  insignia  of  his  regal  power, 
Known  and  observed  of  nations  as  of  yore. 
Both  king  and  chiefs,  with  painted  features,  wear 
Feathers  disjoined  from  birds  of  plumage  rare, 
But  little  else.     Kindly  in  turn  they  greet 
The  Pilgrim  band,  and  down  in  group  now  seat 
Themselves,  holding  discourse  of  allied  strength 
In  treaty ;  and,  when  all  agreed  at  length, 
They  pass  the  pipe  around  :  each  drink*  in  turn : 
A  sacred  compact  thus  they  all  confirm^  — 
A  treaty  wise,  that  full  contentment  gives 
For  fifty  years  while  Massasoit  lives. 

From  my  Merrimacfc,  p.  25. 

Meanwhile  it  appears  Squanto  and  Samoset 
remained  with  the  English,  instructing  them,  and 
acting  as  their  interpreters.  "  Squanto  went  to  fish,  a 
day  or  two  after  Massasoit  left,  for  eels.  At  night 
he  came  home  with  as  many  as  he  could  lift  in  one 
hand,  which  our  people  were  glad  of.  They  were 
fat  and  sweet.  He  trod  them  out  with  his  feet,  and 
then  caught  them  with  his  hands." 

As  we  have  said,  this  Indian  was  of  great  use  to 
the  English,  with  whom  he  was  at  all  times  kind 

*  If  you  srnoke,  the  Indian  calls  it  "drinking." 


TISQUANTTJM.  65 

and  friendly  in  volunteering  as  an  interpreter,  and 
in  giving  aid  and  information  during  the  two  first 
years  of  the  Pilgrim  settlements.  He  believed  in 
their  religion,  joined  their  church,  lived.two  years 
in  their  society,  and  died  in  December,  1622. 

The  Pilgrim  account  of  this  event  is  this:  "Here 
at  Manamoyk  [since  Chatham],  though  they  had 
determined  to  make  essay  to  pass  within  the  shoals 
of  Cape  Cod,  yet  God  had  otherwise  disposed,  who 
struck  Tisquantum  with  sickness,  insomuch  that 
he  there  died.  His  disorder  was  bleeding  much  at 
the  nose,  which  the  Indians  reckon  a  dangerous 
symptom." 

"  He  desired  the  governor  would  pray  for  him, 
that  he  might  go  to  the  Englishmen's  God,  bequeath- 
ing his  things  to  sundry  of  his  English  friends  as 
remembrances  of  his  love  ;  of  whom  (as  they  say) 
*  we  have  a  great  loss.' " 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind,  this  was  the  same 
Squanto  who  in  1614  had  been  kidnapped  by  Hum, 
sold  into  slavery  in  Spain,  and  had  fled  from  there 
into  London.  In  my  "  Merrimack,"  page  26, 1  wrote 
a  word  to  his  praise,  as  follows :  — 

TISQUANTUM. 

Squanto,  meanwhile,  —  who'd  served  a  peaceful  end, 
And  in  the  Pilgrims'  God  had  found  a  friend, 


66  INDIAN   WARS. 

Bereaved  and  worn  by  care  of  by-gone  years 

In  mazy  pathways  through  a  vale  of  tears,  — 

Falls  sick ;  and  as  by  fever  low  depressed, 

And  life  in,doubt,  to  Pilgrims  thus  addressed 

His  sovereign  Will :  "  This  hunting-ground  is  mine, 

The  lakes,  the  vales,  those  mountain-heights  sublime, 

The  green-grown  banks  where  Merrimack  bright  glows, 

And  all  the  hills  far  as  Patuxet  goes  : 

These  spacious  wilds,  my  kindred  (now  no  more) 

In  full  dominion  held  and  hunted  o'er ; 

Then  dying,  all  their  titles  thence  descend 

To  me,  Tisquantum,  now  so  near  this  end 

Of  life.     To  thee,  my  Pilgrim  friends,  I  give 

This  broad  domain,  —  here  may  the  white  man  live,  — 

My  bow  and  arrow  too :   I  give  thee  all ; 

Hence  let  me  go,  obedient  to  the  call 

Of  Angel  Death.    Adieu  !  " 

Thus  gracious  dies 

The  last  red  man  beneath  Patuxet  skies  ; 
And  thus  the  English  sole  possession  share 
By  will  from  Squanto  all  this  region  fair, 
Forever  thence  to  lay  the  forest  low, 
To  fence  fair  fields,  and  drive  the  crooked  plow, 
To  waste  the  wigwams  which  for  ages  spread 
The  wild ;  and  build  broad  mansions  in  their  stead, 
School-houses,  temples  to  the  God  of  grace, 
And  cities  proud,  peculiar  to  the  race 


WAR  OF  1636-7.  67 

Of  Adam.     Diligent  through  honest  toil, 
They  reap  rich  harvest  from  the  virgin  soil. 
From  culture  urged  with  bold  aggressive  sway, 
Wild  beasts,  becoming  frantic,  flee  away. 
As  ravenous  bears  and  moose  and  wolves  recede, 
Neat-cattle  and  the  noble  horse  succeed 
In  aid  of  husbandry.     Full  flocks  abound ; 
The  herds  increase,  as  roll  the  seasons  round ; 
The  desert  even,  through  culture's  grateful  care, 
Soon  set  with  fruit,  begins  to  bloom  and  bear ; 
Fair  nature  smiles  responsive  to  the  plan 
Of  faith  in  God  and  industry  of  man. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  from  this  first  treaty 
among  the  tribes  in  1621,  by  Gov.  Carver  and  Mas- 
sasoit  their  king,  an  amicable  peace  of  fifty  years 
ensued. 

This  peace  accordingly  prevailed  as  between  them. 
But  in  1636  a  war  broke  out  between  the  Pequot 
tribes  and  Massasoit's  tribes  and  the  English. 

SEVERAL  WARS. 

And  then  followed  many  eruptions,  skirmishes, 
murders,  and  wars;  including  the  Pokanekets  and 
their  allied  nations  under  Philip,  against  the  English  ; 
the  French  and  Indian  wars  in  King  William's  time ; 
Queen  Anne's  War  in  Europe,  and  consequently,  as  a 


68 


INDIAN  WAKS. 


result  of  it,  outrages,  invasions,  eruptions,  murders, 
and  devastations  in  and  throughout  the  settlements 
of  New  England;  and  then,  again,  the  eruptions 
and  bloody  conflicts  that  followed  between  1722  and 
1725 ;  and  another  conflict  transpired  among  the 
early  settlers,  growing  out  of  a  war  originating  or 
meditated  by  the  French  and  Spaniards  in  Europe ; 
and  the  war  of  1747,  —  all  tending  to  involve  New 
England  in  conflagration,  devastation,  and  death. 

But,  before  advancing  to  a  more  specific  account 
of  the  more  prominent  conflicts,  we  will  here  give 
the  names  of  some  of  the  sachems,  chiefs,  and  saga- 
mores who  first  and  last  were,  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  land-holders,  and  leaders  of  the  multifarious 
tribes  of  New  England. 


SACHEMS   AND    SAGAMORES. 


Samoset, 


Passaconaway,                               Pennacooks. 

Mcssambomet, 

\Vonalancet  of  Wameiit, 

Wexar, 

Hodgkins, 

Egeremit, 

Kamkamagut, 

Watambatet, 

Adiwando, 

Wassambomet, 

Wehanonowit, 

Washeraet, 

Hegans, 

Wattanmeman, 

NahobaofW«merft, 

Tasauke, 

Watchenoet, 

Mugg, 

Pangus,                                             Petjuawhets. 

Wattaramon, 

•Wattanumon,                                            « 

Wencmovet, 

Morus,                                       Jforrigewocks. 

Kennebis, 

Hopegood, 

Capt.  SamucL 

Squando,                                                   gaco. 

Bomazine, 

Manatagua, 

Robinhood, 

Tisquantum. 

Axdroscoggin. 


SACHEMS   AND   SAGAMORES. 


69 


Warnadugunbuent, 

Sussup, 

Apamaquid, 

Madacawando, 

Warrangunt, 

Robin  Doney, 

Hiantonimo, 

Canonicus, 

Ponham, 

Sassamor., 

Tupayaaman, 

Hobomoh, 

Mossup, 

Quinnapin, 

Wauwamiuo, 

Tashtassuck, 

Tassaquanawith, 

Kutshamaken,  an  interpreter, 

Mascus, 

Tawagason, 

Ninegret  (Niantick), 

Walluspequin, 

Philip  (Mctacom), 

Alexander  (Wamsutta), 

Quaquath, 

Pcksuot, 

Tokamahamon, 

Wecopaulum, 

Wectamos  (a  princess), 

\Vatuspaquin, 

Connecticote, 


Penobscots.  \  Uncas, 


Wampanoags. 


Xohegcms. 


Oweneco, 

One-eyed  John, 

Namapassamet, 

Webcowit  (squaw), 

Aprimps, 

Wattapacoson, 

Sagamore  Sam, 

Sassacus, 

Tunxig, 

Ha 

Robert, 


Xohegant 


Sfipmucki 


sachems  of  Nausett, 


Kutchamaquin, 


Warandance,  Mohandsicki. 

Ascossasotick  (Long  Island),  " 

Aspinet, 
lyanough, . 

Sachems  of  Dorchester,  fcc., 

near  Squantum. 
Ono  Pequin,  Sachem  of  Quabaog. 

John  Tahattawan,    Chief  of  Praying  Indians. 
Wampatuck,  Massachusetts. 

Chickataubut,  " 

Tampatuck,  " 

Cluchatabutt       aliat  Jonas,  " 

Tahattawan,  at  Concord  (Mustaquid)," 
Masconomo,  at  Ipswich  (Agawam),  u 
Montowampate,  at  Marblehead,  " 
Sam  Hide,  at  Dedham  (aged  105),  '• 
Stonewall  John,  u 

Cononchet  (Ch.  Sachem  of  Philip), 


SHAMUT  SACHEMS. 


(Othsrwise,  those  who  signed  the  treaty  of  amity  at 
Plymouth,  Sept.  13,  1621.) 


Ohquamehud, 

Natawahunt, 

Quadaquina, 


Cawnacome, 
Caunbatant, 
Huthmoiden, 


Obbatinnua. 

Chuckatabak. 

Apanno. 


70  INDIAN  WARS. 

THESE"  SAGAMORES. 

"  Some  had  expired  in  fight,  the  brands 
Still  rusted  in  their  bony  hands  ; 
In  plague  and  famine  some."  —  CAMPBELL. 

MASSACHUSETTS  AGAINST  THE  MOHAWKS. 

In  the  year  1669  the  Massachusetts  tribe,  uniting 
with  Englishmen,  numbering  in  all  about  seven  hun- 
dred strong,  took  a  march  into  what  was  called  the 
Maquas  Country.  They  were  mostly  young  men, 
and  advanced,  without  direction  or  advice  of  the 
authorities  at  Boston,  with  revenge  intent  upon  the 
Mohawks. 

ELIOT,  the  New-England  apostle,  advised  against 
it ;  and  yet  five  of  his  Indian  disciples,  volunteering, 
went  in  for  the  fight.  Josias,  an  ambitious,  stout, 
middle-aged  Indian,  led  off  as  if  in  command. 

They  thus  advanced  two  hundred  miles  through 
the  forest,  and  there  falling  in  upon  a  Mohawk  fort, 
and  besieging  it,  several  of  their  men  were  killed : 
others  fell  sick ;  and,  after  some  hesitation  and  delay, 
they  gave  up  the  siege.  On  their  retreat,  the  Mo- 
hawks, following  in  pursuit,  obtained  a  position  in 
the  swamps  or  other  ambushes  in  front  of  them ;  and 
there  in  battle,  the  great  chieftain  Chikatabutt,  in 
the  midst  of  his  prodigies  of  valor,  was  killed ;  and 
nearly  fifty  of  his  warriors  also  fell  in  this  conflict, 
on  their  way  from  the  land  of  the  Mohawks. 


TARRATINE    INVASION.  71 

MASCANONOMO. 

In  the  English  court,  June  28,  1631,  as  against 
this  "  sagamore  of  Agawam "  (who  had  executed 
deeds  of  "all  his  lands  in  Ipswich,"  to  one  John 
Winthrop,  jun.),  a  decree  was  recorded  "that  the 
sagamore  of  Agawam  be  banished  from  coming  into  any 
Englishman's  house  for  a  year,  under  penalty  of  ten 
bear-skins" 

This,  as  it  seems,  grew  out  of  a  difficulty  which  he 
had  made  in  killing  Indians,  and  making  strife 
between  the  Tarratines  and  the  English. 

Soon  the  Tarratines  came  out  in  force  against  the 
tribe  of  Mascanonomo,  with  a  hundred  men ;  and  on 
the  8th  of  August  of  that  year  they  made  an  attack 
in  the  night-time  upon  his  wigwams,  wounded  him, 
killed  seven  of  his  men,  and  mangled  others,  who 
afterwards  died  of  their  wounds.  His  squaw  was 
carried  away  captive. 

This  chief,  notwithstanding  these  admonitions, 
long  afterwards,  in  1644  (March  8),  being  friendly  to 
the  English,  made  them  a  call  with  some  of  his 
friends,  assented  to  their  articles  of  faith,  were 
"  solemnly  received;"  and  then  they  were  presented 
to  the  court. 

They  made  him  presents  of  twenty-six  fathom  of 
wampum ;  and  the  court  gave  him  two  yards  of 
cloth,  dinners  to  him  and  his  men,  and  "a  cup 
of  sac  ''  to  each  at  their  departure.  He  dies. 


72  INDIAN  WARS. 

A  GRANT  TO  HIS   SQUAW. 

And  now  on  the  old  Town-Book  of  Ipswich,  under 
date  of  June  18, 1658,  a  generous  act  of  that  munici- 
pality is  to  be  found,  wherein  a  grant  is  made  to 
Mascononomo's  squaw  of 

"  That  parcel  of  land  which  her  husband  had  fenced 
in"  so  long  as  she  should  remain  a  widow. 

"  Her  husband  was  the  last  of  the  sachems  of 
Agawam  ;  and  with  him,"  says  Mr.  Felt,  "  descended 
his  feeble  and  broken  sceptre  to  the  grave."  He 
died  March  6,  1658 ;  and  they  buried  him  there,  with 
his  gun,  his  tomahawk,  and  other  implements  of  the 
chase  by  his  side,  on  "  Sagamore  Hill,'"  within  the 
lines  of  Hamilton :  there  both  squaw  and  sagamore 
are  at  rest  forever. 

Many  of  the  chiefs  whom  we  have  named  as  well 
as  we  might  in  this  chapter  were  men  of  note  in 
their  times,  standing  distinguished  among  the  native 
nations,  and  at  times  were  respected  and  favored  of 
the  colonies. 

CANONICTJS. 

Among  these  also  was  this  sachem,  from  whose 
good  example  and  liberal  kindnesses  Connecticut 
was  obtained  and  civilized  by  the  white  man. 
During  the  Pequot  War  great  pains  were  taken  to 
secuie  to  the  colonies  the  favor  of  Oanonicus,  then  a 


WILLIAMS   AND    CANONICUS.  73 

sachem  near  to  it  in  Connecticut.  Hence  Roger 
Williams  wrote  to  Gov.  Winthrop  as  follows  :  — 

"  /Sir,  if  any  thing  be  sent  to  the  princes,  I  find 
Canonicus  would  gladly  accept  of  a  box  of  eight  or  ten 
pounds  of  sugar ;  and,  indeed,  he  told  me  he  would 
thank  Mr.  Governor  for  a  box-full." 

Then  again  he  sent  another  letter,  saying,  — 

"  I  am  bold  to  request  a  word  of  advice  concerning  a 
proposition  made  by  CANONICUS  and  MIANTUNIMO  to 
me  some  half-year  since.  Canonicus  gave  an  island  in 
this  bay  to  Mr.  Oldham,  by  name  Chibachuwese,  upon 
condition,  as  it  should  seem,  that  he  would  dwell  there 
near  unto  them,"  and  desired  to  know  if  this  proposition 
would  be  agreeable  to  Massachusetts.  But  the  Pequot 
War  soon  intervened ;  and  here,  as  we  believe,  this 
matter  came  to  an  end. 

CANONICUS  was  much  noted.  He  was  poetized 
by  some  Boston  writer  in  1803,  from  which  we 
juote,  wherein,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years,  he  is 
made  to  announce  his  own  departure  from  the 
stormy  trials  of  earth :  — 

HIS  LAST  WOED. 

"  I  die,  my  friends.     You  have  no  cause  to  grieve : 
To  abler  hands  my  regal  power  I  leave  ; 
Our  God  commands :  to  fertile  realms  I  haste, 
Compared  with  which  your  gardens  are  a  waste. 


74  INDIAN  WARS. 

There  in  full  bloom  eternal  spring  abides, 
And  swarming  fishes  glide  through  azure  tides ; 
Continued  sunshine  gilds  the  cloudless  skies, 
No  misfcs  conceal  Keesuclcquand  from  our  eyes." 

Roger  Williams,  in  the  year  1654,  in  alluding  to 
the  old  Narragansetts  says,  — 

"  Their  late  famous  long-lived  Canonicus  so 
lived  and  died;  and  in  the  same  most  honorable 
manner  and  solemnity  (in  their  way)  as  you  laid  to 
sleep  your  prudent  peacemaker  Mr.  Winthrop,  did 
they  honor  this  their  prudent  and  peaceable  prince  ; 
yea,  through  all  their  towns  and  countries,  how 
frequently  do  many,  and  ofttimes  our  Englishmen, 
travel  alone  with  safety  and  loving-kindness  !  " 

In  a  deposition  which  he  gave  of  this  chief,  June 
18,  1682,  Mr.  Williams  says  in  substance  that  Mian- 
tonimo  was  the  marshal  of  Canonicus,  was  his 
youngest  brother's  son,  and  did  nothing  without  the 
consent  of  Canonicus ;  and  then  he  adds,  "  I  declare 
to  posterity,  that,  were  it  not  for  the  favor  that  Grod 
gave  me  with  CANONICUS,  none  of  these  parts,  no,  not 
Rhode  Island,  had  been  purchased  or  obtained  ;  for  1 
never  got  any  thing  of  CANONICUS  but  by  gift." 


CHAPTER  V. 

TREATY;   PEQTJOTS   WITH  THE  ENGLISH. 

The  Advance  of  Civilization. — Peqttot  Hostilities  and  Depredations.— 
Their  Numbers.  —  Location  of  their  Tribes.  —  Sassacus  their  Sa- 
chem.— English  Treaty  with  them. —  Land  conveyed  by  the  Tribes 
to  the  Dutch. —  Consideration. — In  War  they  had  conqiiered  the 
Dutch  Settlers.—  Plymouth  People  seek  Territory  there.— Extent 
of  the  Dominions  of  Sassacus. —  Stone  and  his  Men;  how  slain.  — 
Vessel  Explosion,  and  Several  killed.  —  Narragansetts  and  English 
unite  against  the  Pequots.— SASSACUS  seeks  Reconciliation.  —  A 
Talk  in  Boston.— Position,  as  urged  by  the  Pequots. —  A  Treaty  is 
signed. — Boston  in  an  Uproar.  — Armed  Men  sent  to  Neponset  to 
appease  the  Narragansetts. —  Colonies  try  to  pacify  the  Nations. — 
Englishmen  seek  Pequot  Lands  under  Treaty.— Neither  Party 
fulfils  it. —  English  took  Deeds. — Consideration  of  One  of  them. — 
Oldham  is  slain.  — Gallop  finds  his  Body,  and  pursues  the 
Pequots. 

the  preceding  chapters  we  have  seen  in 
brief  how  the  Pilgrims  started  on  these 
shores  ;  the  first  insurrection  of  the  natives 
against  them  ;  how  after  the  lapse  of  about 
three  months  the  friendly  Samoset  came  to 
meet  and  greet  them ;  how  he  brought  in  from 
afar  the  wise,  the  peaceful,  the  discreet  and 
generous-hearted  MASSASOIT  ;  how  they  made  their 
treaty,  and  formed  a  friendly  alliance  which,  as 
between  the  Plymouth  Colony  and  these  tribes, 


76  INDIAN   WARS. 

endured  for  nearly  fifty  years ;  and  how  old  Sq  aanto 
(Tisquantum),  after  he  had  been  taken  by  the  heart- 
less Hunt,  carried  into  Spain,  and  sold  as  a  slave, 
escaped ;  and  after  all  his  experience  in  London,  and 
after  his  sad  reverses  in  the  loss  of  his  own  entire 
Patuxet  tribe  and  kindred  (all  swept  away  by  a  war 
and  by  the  pestilence),  how  he  still  lived,  and  loved 
the  English ;  how  he  joined  the  Church ;  how  then, 
within  two  brief  years,  giving  up  every  thing,  he 
took  his  final  leave  of  a  wilderness  world,  with  an 
abiding,  triumphant  faith  in  the  Pilgrims'  God. 

Since  then  (December,  1622),  the  onward  march  of 
civilization  in  New  England  has  worked  its  "won« 
ders. 

FROM  THE  CLOUD. 

Come  back,  Tisquantum^  if  above  ye  dwell: 
Behold  thy  Merrimack,  once  loved  so  well. 
Thy  race  had  traced  it  from  creation's  start : 
The  white  man  turns  it  to  the  works  of  art. 
Survey  its  progress  these  three  hundred  years, 
Since  up  and  down  ye  wandered  here  in  tears 
Alone,  bereaved.     Call  once  again  to  view 
Thy  thick-set  forest  wild,  thy  birch  canoe, 
Where  now  thy  kindred  sleep  as  from  the  first ; 
Where  Pilgrim  saints  since  mingled  in  the  dust ; 
Where  now  the  ploughman  trudges  in  his  toil, 
Thoughtless  of  what  still  lies  beneath  the  soil ; 


TlSQUANTUM   IN   THE  CLOUD,   page  76. 


SASSACUS   AND   HIS   SAGAMORES.  77 

Oh !  let  us  know  from  what  thy  name  inspires, 
What  is  man's  destiny,  what  Heaven  requires, 
More  fully  still.     From  realms  eternal,  fair, 
Tell  us  of  hunting-grounds,  of  glory  there, 
Where  blissful  prospect  Heaven  shall  fulfil 
To  generations  onward,  upward  still; 
While  purest  fountains  flowing,  failing  never, 
Shall  swell  the  tide  of  Merrimack  forever,  — 
Sure  sign  here  given  of  God's  enduring  care, 
For  what  we  see  in  heaven,  in  earth,  or  air. 

From  my  Merrimack,  p.  74. 
THE  PEQUOT  WAR. 

The  Pequot  tribes  of  1635-6  and  7  were  said  to 
be  at  that  period  "  the  most  numerous,  the  most  war- 
like, the  fiercest  and  bravest,  of  all  the  aboriginal 
clans  of  Connecticut.  From  the  Niantic  River  on 
the  west,  their  forts  and  wigwams  extended  along 
the  rude  and  stony  hills  of  New-London  County  to 
Wecapoag,  ten  miles  east  of  Paucatuc  River,  which 
divides  Connecticut  from  Rhode  Island."  Their 
dominions  extended  back  a  considerable  distance 
fiom  the  sea,  their  northernmost  tribes  being  mostly 
Mohegans,  who  usually  hunted  along  the  banks  of 
ihe  Thames.  Sassacus  was  their  grand  sachem, 
having  under  him  twenty-six  sagamores ;  and  he  could 
muster  from  five  hundred  to  seven  hundred  warriors. 

The    Narragansetts,   their  most  formidable  foes, 


78  INDIAN   WARS. 

dwelt  at  the  eastward,  in  Rhode  Island  and  vicinity, 
and  along  the  shores  of  the  sea  in  Massachusetts 
where  the  Indian  population  was  dense. 

These  Narragansetts  at  the  time  are  said  to  have 
been  very  numerous,  according  to  some  accounts  num- 
bering more  than  twenty  thousand,  and  that  at  one 
time  they  could  have  furnished  five  thousand  fighting 
men. 

It  appears  that  on  the  18th  of  June,  1633,  there 
was  a  treaty  of  sale  and  purchase  between  the  Dutch 
settlers  in  Connecticut  and  the  Pequots.  These 
Indians  conveyed  to  those  Dutchmen  "  a  tract  of 
land  one  Dutch  mile  in  length  along  the  river,  ex- 
tending one-third  of  a  mile  into  the  country."  For 
this  land  "  Wopigwooit  received  twenty-seven  ells  of 
a  kind  of  coarse  cloth  called  duffels,  six  axes,  six 
kettles,  eighteen  knives,  one  sword-blade,  one  pair  of 
shears,  and  some  toys." 

THE  HOUSE  OF  GOOD  HOPE. 

The  territory  thus  purchased  for  the  purposes  of 
trade  was  to  be  free  to  all  nations  of  Indians,  and 
"  was  to  be  a  territory  of  peace.  The  hatchet  was 
to  be  buried  there.  No  warrior  was  to  molest  his 
enemy  while  within  its  bounds." 

Yet  Van  Curler,  "  one  of  the  Dutch,"  erected  on  it 
a  small  trading-fort,  armed  it  with  two  pieces  of 
cannon,  and  named  it  "  The  Souse  of  Good  Hope." 


DUTCH  AND  PEQUOT   CONFLICTS.  79 

Thereupon  "  the  Pequots  soon  broke  through  the 
conditions  of  the  treaty  aforesaid,  by  killing  Indians, 
their  enemies,  who  came  there  to  trade.  Upon  that, 
the  Dutch  contrived  to  kill  Wopigwooit  their  chief, 
and  several  of  his  men." 

SASSACUS  his  son,  a  renowned  warrior,  succeeded 
Wopigwooit  as  chief ;  but  alas !  he  proved  in  the  end 
to  be  the  last  sachem  of  that  tribe. 

The  war  thus  between  the  Dutch  and  the  tribes 
commenced.  It  lasted  nearly  two  years ;  bringing  to 
the  settlers  all  the  horrors  of  a  bloody  conflict,  in- 
terrupting trade,  and  producing  unabated  consterna- 
tion throughout  New  England. 

The  Pequots  for  the  time  being  prevailed  over  the 
Dutch.  In  October,  1633,  while  the  war  with  the  Dutch 
progressed,  the  Plymouth  people  resolved  to  make  a 
settlement  in  the  Pequot  country,  and  sent  one 
William  Holmes  up  there  with  a  vessel,  a  number  of 
men,  and  the  frame  of  a  house.  "  He  sailed  up  the 
river,  passed  the  Dutch  fort  at  Hartford,  and,  in 
spite  of  remonstrances  and  threats  of  the  garrison, 
erected  his  trading-house  in  a  place  now  called 
Windsor."  Holmes,  they  say,  carried  back  in  his 
vessel  the  original  sachems  who  had  been  driven 
away  by  the  Pequots,  probably  thereby  giving 
further  offence. 

The  Pequots  had  then  already  conquered  this  part 


80  INDIAN  WARS. 

of  the  Connecticut  Valley ;  and  their  supremacy  had 
been  substantially  acknowledged  by  the  Dutch. 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  English  inclined  to 
question  the  Dutch  titles  as  well  as  those  of  the 
Pequcts.  But  no  open  hostility  commenced  at  this 
time  between  the  English  and  the  Pequot  race ;  and 
yet  the  germ  of  hostility  was  beginning  to  move. 

In  the  summer  of  1633  Capt.  Stone  came  here  from 
Virginia  in  a  small  vessel  to  obtain  trade  on  the 
coast  of  New  England.  He  traded  a  short  time  at 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  then  sailed  with  a  Capt. 
Norton  and  seven  others  for  the  Connecticut  River. 
Soon  after  his  departure  news  came  to  Boston  that 
Stone,  Norton,  and  his  whole  company,  were  killed, 
his  vessel  burned,  and  all  his  articles  of  cargo  taken 
and  divided  among  the  Pequots  and  Nehantics.  It 
appears  further  that  at  or  near  this  time  others,  to 
the  number  of  thirty,  had  been  slain  somewhat  in  a 
similar  manner. 

ORIGIN  OF  THESE  TRIBES. 

This  nation  of  Pequots,  as  we  have  seen,  according 
to  Hubbard,  cruel  and  war-like  as  they  were,  had  in 
former  times  "  come  down  from  the  inland  parts  of 
the  continent,  and  by  force  had  seized  upon  one  of 
the  goodliest  places  near  the  sea,  and  had  become  a 
terror  to  all  their  neighbors."  He  says  their  domain 


PEQUOT   WAR.  81 

extended  over  a  part  of  Long  Island,  over  the 
Mohegans,  over  the  sagamores  of  Quinnepeake  (now 
New  Haven),  yea,  over  all  the  people  that  dwelt  upon 
Connecticut  River,  and  over  some  of  the  most  south- 
erly inhabitants  of  the  Nipmuck  Country  about 
Quinabaag.  The  principal  seat  from  which  these 
sagamores  rallied  was  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Thames,  now  New  London.  They  had  here  origi- 
nally three  kings,  to  wit,  Connecticote,  Quinnipiog, 
and  Sassacus.  CONNECTICOTE,  as  from  a  long  line 
of  descents,  was  chief  of  chiefs.  They  up  to  this 
time  had  conquered  the  Dutch  settlers,  having  mur- 
dered many  of  them  in  a  quarrel,  arising  mostly  from 
the  fact  that  the  Dutch  had  traded  with  some  of 
their  enemies;  and,  now  that  they  had  begun  to 
murder  the  English  who  came  there  to  trade,  we  soon 
will  begin  to  behold 

"  HOW  GREAT  A  MATTER  A  LITTLE  FIRE  KINDLETH." 

So  it  was  that  one  Capt.  Stone  from  Virginia,  in 
1634,  while  on  a  trading  expedition,  as  he  had  at 
first  touched  at  Massachusetts  Bay,  with  his  seven 
men  on  board  of  his  vessel  was  brutally  murdered. 

STONE   AND   NORTON. 

It  happened  thus:  On  reaching  the  mouth  of 
the  Connecticut,  Stone  opened  a  trade  with  the  na- 
tives, and  sent  three  of  his  men  ashore  to  hunt  for 


82  INDIAN  WARS. 

wild-fowl.  The  Indians  appeared  friendly,  and  were 
suffered  to  come  on  board  the  vessel  at  pleasure. 
Stone,  being  tired  for  want  of  rest,  fell  asleep  in  his 
cabin  in  presence  of  the  sachem ;  and  the  rest  of  the 
crew  unsuspiciously  and  without  any  precautions 
were  in  the  galley. 

Meantime  the  three  men  on  shore  had  been  at- 
tacked and  slain  by  a  party  of  the  Indians,  but  so  far 
off,  it  was  not  known  of  the  ship's  crew.  Then  the 
chief  knocked  out  the  brains  of  the  unconscious 
captain  ;  and  instantly  his  followers  seized  the  fire- 
arms of  the  vessel,  and  presented  them  against  the 
startled  English. 

NATIVES  AFRAID  OF  FIRE-ARMS. 

One  of  the  English,  seizing  a  musket,  aimed  it  in 
his  own  defence.  Upon  seeing  such  a  weapon  in  the 
hands  of  a  white  man,  they  all  fled,  leaping  over- 
board. 

But,  in  the  rush  and  confusion,  the  powder  in  the 
vessel  ignited,  blew  up,  damaging  the  vessel,  and 
killing  nearly  the  whole  of  the  little  crew  then  re- 
maining. 

Next  then,  the  Indians  clambered  on  board  again, 
and,  killing  such  as  yet  remained  alive,  plundered 
and  sequestered  the  cargo.  These  murderers  were 
Pequots,  aided,  perhaps,  by  some  of  the  western 


AN   IMPENDING   CONFLICT.  83 

Nehantics.  It  was  in  this  way  the  battles  went  on  ; 
for  the  Narragansetts,  the  Massachusetts,  and  tribu- 
taries had  not  forgotten,  as  they  never  would  forget, 
their  alliance  as  pledged  to  the  English  on  their 
great  first  treaty  in  the  peaceful  days  of  Massasoit ; 
and  they  now  resolved  to  move  together  against  the 
Pequots. 

The  Pequot  nation  had  been  besought  to  give  up 
their  murderers  by  the  English  through  their  gover- 
nor at  Boston,  and,  as  of  course,  in  vain.  Yet  their 
war  with  the  Dutch  settlers  was  still  troubling  them ; 
and,  in  sight  of  the  storm  which  they  could  but  see 
gathering  to  becloud  them,  they  in  the  following 
year,  through  Sassacus,  undertook  to  conciliate  the 
English,  hoping  thereby  to  escape  danger,  and  to 
restore  to  his  people  a  return  of  trade. 

HE  SENDS   AN  AMBASSADOR. 

In  October,  1634,  a  Pequot  messenger  arrived  at 
"the  bay,"  bearing,  according  to  Indian  fashions 
as  an  ambassador,  a  present  for  Deputy-Gov. 
Ludlow  from  his  sachem. 

He  laid  down  before  the  governor  "  two  bundles 
of  sticks,  indicative  of  the  number  of  beaver  and 
other  skins  which  the  Pequots  would  give  the  Eng- 
lish, and  promised  also  a  large  amount  of  wampum, 
and  therefore  requested  a  league  between  his  people 
and  the  pale-faces." 


84  INDIAN   WARS. 

Ludlow  accepted  the  presents  thus  made  to  him- 
self, and  gave  him  in  return  a  moose  coat  of  equal 
value  for  the  Pequot  chieftain;  but  the  governor 
kindly  told  the  messenger,  when  he  took  leave  of 
him,  that  Sassacus  must  show  his  respect  for  the 
English  by  sending  deputies  of  greater  quality  than 
he  was,  and  enough  of  them,  before  a  treaty  could  be 
made  with  the  colonies. 

A  fortnight  afterwards,  two  Pequot  sagamores 
arrived,  bringing  to  Ludlow  other  presents. 

The  deputy-governor,  Dudley  being  absent,  re- 
ceived them  with  civility,  conducted  them  to  Boston, 
and  their  negotiations  opened. 

But  the  Pequots  were  told  that  there  could  be  no 
consent  to  a  treaty  until  the  murderers  of  Stone  and 
others  were  surrendered,  nor  until  restitution  was 
made  for  the  plunder  and  destruction  of  his  vessel. 

PEQUOTS  DEFEND  THEIR  ACTION. 

These  sagamores  "  did  not  deny  that  their  nation 
was  responsible  for  the  murder,  but  asserted  that 
Stone  had  provoked  his  fate." 

They  said  that  "  on  entering  the  Connecticut,  he 
forcibly  seized  two  Indians  of  that  region,  and  kept 
them  on  board  his  vessel  to  make  them  pilot  it  up 
the  river ;  that  after  a  while,  he  and  two  of  his  men 
lauded,  taking  with  them  the  two  captives,  with  their 
hands  still  closely  bound  behind  them; 


PEQUOT   AMBASSADOES.  85 

"  That  nine  Indians  watched  the  party ;  and  at 
night,  when  the  English  had  gone  to  sleep  on  the 
shore,  they  killed  them,  and  liberated  their  country- 
men ;  "  that  the  vessel,  with  the  remainder  of  their 
crew,  was  afterwards  blown  up:  but  of  this  they 
knew  nothing,  neither  the  manner  nor  cause. 

They  further  stated  that  the  sachem  whom  they 
had  when  Stone  was  put  to  death  had  been  killed  by 
the  Dutch,  and  that  all  the  Indians  concerned  in  the 
murder  had  died  of  the  small-pox,  except  two. 

These,  they  cautiously  added,  Sassacus  would  prob- 
ably be  willing  to  deliver  to  the  English,  provided 
the  guilt  could  be  proved  upon  them. 

This  story  of  the  Pequot  ambassadors,  the  English 
were  inclined  to  believe,  having  no  direct  evidence  to 
the  contrary;  and  a  treaty  was  then  and  there 
agreed  upon,  and  was  signed  by  the  parties. 

SECOND  TREATY  Df  N.  E.   HISTORY. 

By  this,  the  English  were  to  have  as  much  land  in 
the  country  of  the  Connecticut  as  they  needed,  pro- 
vided they  would  make  a  settlement;  and  the 
Pequots  were  to  give  them  all  possible  assistance  hi 
effecting  their  settlement. 

The  Pequots  were  to  surrender  the  two  murderers 
whenever  they  were  demanded,  and  were  to  pay  the 


86  INDIAN  WARS. 

English  forty  beaver-skins,  thirty  otter-skins,  and 
four  hundred  fathoms  of  wampum. 

They  were  likewise  to  give  all  their  custom  to  the 
English,  who,  on  the  other  hand,  were  to  send  them 
a  vessel  immediately,  not  to  defend  them,  but  to 
trade  with  them. 

Such  was  the  treaty  between  the  Colony  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  and  the  Pequots  in  1634. 

BOSTON  IN  A  HUBBUB. 

On  the  morning  next  following  this  treaty,  news 
arrived  "that  two  or  three  hundred  Narragansetts 
were  waiting  at  a  place  called  Neponset  to  kill  the 
Pequot  messengers  on  their  way  home." 

Thereupon  a  few  armed  men  were  collected  by  an 
order  from  the  governor ;  and  they  proceeded  to 
Neponset  with  a  message  to  come  to  Boston  and 
have  a  talk. 

Bat,  on  reaching  Neponset,  the  white  men  found 
only  two  sagamores  with  about  twenty  warriors,  who 
put  in  a  disclaims  by  saying  that  they  were  out 
on  a  hunting  expedition,  and  had  come  thither  sim- 
ply to  make  their  old  friends  at  Neponset  a  visit. 

THE  COLONY  TREES   TO  PACIFY  THE  TRIBES. 

The  English  now  make  the  attempt  to  negotiate  a 
peace  between  the  Pequots  and  the  Narragansetts. 


SETTLEMENTS  AMONG   THE  PEQUOTS.  87 

To  this  end  they  offered  the  Narragansetts  a  part 
of  the  wampum  which  was  to  be  paid  by  the  Pe- 
quots  ;  and,  as  appears,  the  Pequots  had  stipulated 
to  furnish  the  governor  with  four  hundred  fathoms 
of  that  article,  extra,  for  that  very  purpose. 

The  Narragansetts  acceded  to  this  proposition; 
and  a  treaty  of  peace  was  also  concluded  between 
them  and  the  Pequots. 

From  this  treaty,  for  the  time  being  amounting  to 
a  sort  of  reconciliation  on  the  one  side  and  on  the 
other,  the  English  advanced  to  make  settlements 
among  the  Pequots  at  Wethersfield  and  elsewhere  ; 
and  there  is  a  deed  wherein  it  appears  that  within 
the  two  next  years  they  had  purchased  of  Sowheag 
the  sachem,  certain  territory  "  measuring  six  miles  in 
width  north  and  south,  and  nine  miles  in  length,  of 
which  six  miles  were  on  the  west  side  of  the  river." 

There  is  another  deed,  bearing  date  April  25, 
1636,  by  which  they  obtained  by  purchase  a  tract  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Connecticut,  lying  between  the 
Podunk  and  Seantic  Rivers,  and  extending  a  day's 
march  into  the  country. 


N  OF  THE   DEED. 

Its  consideration  was  twenty  cloth  coats,  fifteen 
fathoms  of  wampum,  a  part  of  which  was  to  be  paid 
at  the  time  and  a  part  when  the  next  English  pin- 
nace  came  up  the  river. 


88  INDIAN  WARS. 

This  deed  was  signed  by  Arramament  (sachem  at 
Podunk),  Sheat  (sachem  of  Poquonnuc),  Cogremos- 
set  of  Poquonnuc,  and  eight  others,  who  hitherto 

had  claimed  an  interest  in  the  lands. 

• 

TREATY  NOT  FULFILLED. 

John  W.  De  Forest,  in  his  concise  history  of 
the  Connecticut  wars,  printed  in  1750,  says,  that  the 
treaties  between  the  colonial  government  and  the 
Pequots  were  imperfectly  observed  on  both  sides; 
that  Sassacus  paid  none  of  the  wampum  or  other 
articles  which  he  had  promised;  nor  is  there  any 
proof  that  for  two  years  after  the  treaty  the  colonists 
ever  sent  a  vessel  to  the,  Pequot  country  to  trade ; 
that  the  only  article  which  the  English  fulfilled  was 
that  of  planting  colonies  in  Connecticut;  and  the 
only  article  which  the  Pequots  fulfilled  was  that  of 
allowing  them  to  do  so  without  opposition. 

TROUBLE   WITH   THE  NARRAGANSETTS. 

It  was  thus  that  matters  went  on  under  that 
treaty  ;  and  at  length  it  happened,  John  Oldham  of 
Dorchester,  an  energetic  commander  of  a  pinnace, 
in  which  he  made  trading  voyages  along  the  coast 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  corn  and  other  Indian 
articles  of  traffic  was  slain. 

In  the  spring  of  1636  he  sailed  up  the  Connecti- 


MURDER   OP  OLDHAM.  89 

cut,  having  for  a  crew  two  boys  and  two  Narragan- 
setts  to  assist  him  in  trade  with  the  Pequots. 

OLDHAM  finished  his  dealings  with  the  natives; 
but,  pausing  on  his  return  at  Manisses  (Block  Island), 
he  was  murdered  by  its  Indian  inhabitants  July  20, 
1636. 

Upon  this  being  known  to  another  trader,  John 
Gallop,  who  was  voyaging  along  the  eastern  part 
of  Long  Island,  he  discovered  Oldham's  pinnace, 
having  on  board  of  it  sixteen  Indians,  and  a  canoe, 
manned  by  other  Indians,  loaded  with  goods,  put- 
ting off  from  the  shore. 

HE   HAILS  IT. 

Gallop,  running  close  to  it,  gave  a  hail  in  English ; 
but,  obtaining  no  answer,  his  suspicions  were  aroused 
by  observing  that  the  Indians  were  armed  with  guns. 
Immediately  a  sail  was  hoisted  on  board  the  pinnace. 
The  wind  and  tide  being  off  the  island,  their  boat 
began  to  drive  northward  towards  the  Narra- 
gansett  shore.  Gallop  then  bore  up  as  if  to  head 
them  off,  and  occasionally  fired  at  them  with  duck- 
shot  ;  upon  which  they  all  took  shelter  under  the 
hatches.  He  then,  standing  off  at  a  distance,  made  a 
run  upon  the  pinnace's  quarter  with  heavy  force. 
Six  Indians,  frightened  at  the  shock,  jumped  over- 
board, and  were  drowned  while  making  for  the  shore. 


90  INDIAN  WARS. 

He  then  made  another  rush  upon  the  pinnace  with 
his  heavier  vessel ;  and,  no  other  Indians  making  their 
appearance,  he  used  his  muskets  in  firing  through 
her  sides. 

Then  six  others  of  the  plunderers  leaped  over- 
board, and  were  drowned. 

The  victors  then  (three  men  and  two  boys) 
boarded  their  prize.  Two  Indians  came  up  on  deck, 
surrendered,  and  were  secured;  but,  as  they  made 
him  trouble  in  securing  them,  he  threw  one  of  them 
into  the  sea.  Two  other  Indians  still  remained 
under  the  hatches  armed  with  swords,  in  such  a  posi- 
tion that  they  could  not  be  killed  or  taken. 

JOHN'S  BODY. 

The  body  of  John  Oldliam  was  found  beneath  an 
old  sail,  his  head  split  open,  his  arms  and  legs 
gashed  as  if  the  Indians  had  tried  to  amputate  them, 
and  his  flesh  still  warm. 

Gallop  committed  these  remains  to  the  sea,  took 
the  sails  and  remainder  of  the  cargo  on  board  their 
own  craft,  and  then  tried  to  tow  the  pinnace  away 
with  the  two  Indians  still  in  it. 

But  the  high  wind  and  heavy  sea  drove  the  pin- 
nace from  them :  they  were  obliged  to  loose  her ; 
and  she  drifted  over  against  the  Narragansett  shore. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  OLD  NARRAGANSETTS. 

With  the  English  Harmonious  usually.  —An  Eruption.  —The  Tribe 
proposes  War.  —  Gov.  Bradford  returns  the  Rattlesnake  Skin, 
and  avoids  Trouble. — Canonicus  and  his  Sachems. — Pequots 
suspected  of  Hostility.  —  An  Expedition  sent  against  them  with 
Terrible  Instructions.  —  Fleet  lands.  —  The  Indians  run  away.  — 
English  commit  Depredations. — A  Dread  Warfare  is  at  hand.  — 
Murders  ensue  from  the  Tribes.  — Men,  Cows,  &c.,  are  killed.  — 
Miantonomo  and  two  Sons  of  Canonicus,  and  Twenty  Others  visit- 
ed Boston  in  Kindness,  and  made  an  Alliance.  — Tilly  and  Others 
murdered.  —  Uncas  at  the  Saybrook  Fort.  —  Battle  on  the  High- 
lands at  Mystic,  led  by  Mason.— Underbill  and  Uncas  andWe- 
quash  on  the  One  Side,  and  the  Sagamores  of  Sassacus  on  the 
Other.  —  Its  Description  —  Numbers  Slain.  —  Sassacus  in  sight  of 
his  Dead  Nation. —He  seeks  the  Mohawks.  —  They  murder 
him,  and  return  his  Scalp  to  the  English. 


'ANONICUS  for  many  years  was  their  chief; 
and  every  thing,  as  between  them  and  the 
English,  seemed  to  move  harmoniously  at 
all  times,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two 
instances  of  apparent 'warlike  eruptions. 
One  of   these  causeless  misunderstandings  is  de- 
scribed by  Edward   Winslow  in  his  GOOD  NEWS  OF 
NEW  ENGLAND,  and  is  repeated  by  Mr.  Drake  the 
historian,  as  follows  :  — 


92  INDIAN  WAKS. 

In  February,  1622,  Canonicus  sent  into  Plymouth 
by  one  of  his  men  a  bundle  of  arrows,  bound  with  a 
rattlesnake-skin,  and  left  them  there,  and  retired. 
The  Narragansetts  were  then  many  thousands  strong. 
Tisquantum  the  interpreter,  after  the  messenger  had 
left,  being  called,  told  the  English  that  the  arrows 
lapped  in  a  rattlesnake's  skin  was  intended  as  a 
challenge  for  war. 

Thereupon  Gov.  Bradford  took  the  rattlesnake's 
skin,  filled  it  with  powder  and  shot,  and  returned  ifc 
to  the  old  Narragansett,  with  a  message  of  defiance, 
and  at  the  same  time  invited  him  to  a  trial  of 
strength. 

The  messenger,  with  his  daring  demand,  produced 
the  desired  effect  upon  Canonicus,  who,  declining  to 
receive  the  rattlesnake-skin,  at  once  returned  it. 

And  here,  as  we  believe,  the  trouble  ended. 
Canonicus  had  held,  and  still  maintained,  an  influence 
over  some  of  the  Massachusetts  sagamores,  who 
were  inclined  to  follow  him. 

We  are  told  that  in  the  war  between  Uncas  and 
Miantonomo,  two  sons  of  Canonicus  fought  for 
Miantonomo,  and  that  they  were  wounded  at 
Sachem's  Plain. 

Poems  were  published  of  this  chief,  of  which  a 
few  lines  are  here  copied :  — 


THE   PLOT   AGAINST   OLDHAM.  93 

"  A  mighty  prince  of  venerable  age, 
A  peerless  warrior,  but  of  peace  a  friend ; 
His  breast  a  treasury  of  maxims  sage, 
His  arm  a  host  to  punish  or  defend." 

The  tribes  of  Canonicus  from  the  beginning,  as  we 
have  said,  had  maintained  good  faith  with  the  Pil- 
grims. They  had  become  more  civilized,  and  had 
been  better  in  their  behavior,  and  more  inclined  to 
progress,  than  any  other  of  the  tribes  within  the  six- 
teen years  since  they  had  entered  into  an  allied  treaty 
with  the  English. 

But  now  an  event  has  happened  which  makes 
Canonicus,  that  faithful  old  Sachem,  sad.  It  was  not 
the  act  of  Canonicus:  his  sorrows  arise  from  the 
perfidy  of  a  few  of  his  men,  just  as  great  quarrels 
usually  commence.  This  old  chief  of  the  Narragan- 
setts,  seeing  the  situation,  as  avowed,  forthwith  sent 
Miantonomo  his  nephew,  with  seventeen  canoes  and 
two  hundred  men,  to  punish  the  murderers. 

It  was  undoubtedly  true  that  the  plot  at  the  mur- 
dering of  Oldham  was  planned  and  perpetrated  by 
his  Narragansetts,  because  this  captain  had  traded 
with  their  enemies,  the  Pequots.  Canonicus,  in  view 
of  this  troublesome  murder,  had  applied  for  aid  and 
advice  to  Roger  Williams,  a  clergyman  in  that  vicin- 
ity. Accordingly  Williams  had  prepared  a  letter  in 


94  INDIAN  WARS. 

his  behalf;  and  three  Narragansetts  were  made  the 
bearers  of  it  as  ambassadors  to  the  governor  at  Bos- 
ton. The  plot  had  been  formed,  and  the  murder 
committed,  by  certain  reckless  savages  on  the  island  : 
as  we  have  said,  they  had  taken  offence  because  Old- 
ham  had  favored  the  Pequots  with  his  trade. 

The  authorities  at  Boston  finally  sent  the  messen- 
gers back  to  Canonicus,  expressing  some  suspicions 
which  they  had  entertained  upon  this  matter.  They, 
however,  demanded  that  Canonicus  should  surrender 
Oldham's  two  boys,  whom  the  savages  still  held,  and 
that  he  should  inflict  severe  punishment  upon  the 
guilty  tribes  upon  the  island. 

The  boys  accordingly  were  returned  ;  and  Canoni- 
cus and  Miantonomo  thereafterwards  succeeded  in 
convincing  the  governor  that  neither  he  nor  his  sag- 
amores had  any  knowledge  of,  and  that  they  had  not 
had  any  participation  in,  the  murder. 


PEQUOTS   SUSPECTED. 

It  came  to  light  that  some  of  the  Pequots  had 
harbored  some  of  the  murderers  of  Oldham ;  and  by 
the  Colony  it  was  thought  they  had  been  partakers 
of  guilt  with  the  Narragansetts ;  and,  in  that  time 
of  faithless  fear  and  excitement,  hasty  measures  were 
adopted. 


EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  PEQUOTS.  95 

Although,  by  the  treaty  of  1634,  the  Pequots  were 
to  have  paid  the  Colony  four  hundred  fathoms  of 
wampum,  which  was  to  have  gone  to  the  Narragan- 
setts,  they  had  not  done  it.  Yet  from  that  treaty  they 
had  behaved  well  towards  the  Colony,  and  could  not 
be  accused  of  having  committed  any  outrage  against 
the  English,  their  property,  or  their  allies.  "  Yet  such 
were  the  suspicions  against  them,  which  were  now 
aroused  in  this  time  of  excitement,  that  the  govern- 
ment at  Boston  resolved  to  demand  of  the  Pequot 
nation  six  hundred  additional  fathoms  of  wampum, 
and  some  of  their  children  as  hostages  for  its  deliv- 
ery." 

On  Sept.  25,  1636,  pursuant  to  orders  from  the 
governor  and  council,  John  Endicott  of  Boston  was 
furnished  with  three  small  vessels  and  with  ninety 
men,  of  which  John  Underbill  and  Nathaniel  Turner 
were  captains,  and  Jenyson  and  Davenport  ensigns, 
and  with  instructions  to  invade  Block  Island,  and, 
sparing  "the  women  and  children,  put  all  the  men 
to  the  sword."  Endicott  was  commanded  to  go 
farther :  he  was  to  advance  into  the  Pequot  Country, 
obtain  the  "infidel  murderers  of  Stone,"  together 
with  a  thousand  fathoms  of  wampum,  demand  some 
of  their  children  as  hostages  for  the  performance  of 
these  conditions,  and,  if  the  children  were  refused, 
to  take  them  by  force,  and  bring  them  to  Boston. 


96  INDIAN  WAKS. 

The  fleet  was  off,  and  landed  on  the  island.  The 
principal  chiefs  were  away.  No  attack  was  made 
on  that  day.  They  made  some  random  shots,  by 
which  it  is  supposed  one  Indian  was  killed  ;  but  the 
Indians  at  the  smell  of  gunpowder  ran  away,  as 
usual.  On  the  following  day  Endicott  and  his  force 
marched  over  the  Island,  but,  finding  no  Indians 
there,  "  burned  down  their  wigwams,  destroyed  their 
canoes,  carried  away  some  of  their  mats  and  baskets, 
shot  their  dogs,  and  laid  waste  about  two  hundred 
acres  of  corn." 

They  spent  two  days  there,  but  found  no 
more  Indians.  Thence  Endicott  with  his  force 
advanced  to  Saybrook.  Lieut.  G-ardner,  who  com- 
manded the  fort  there,  expressed  great  surprise  at 
the  sending  out  of  such  an  expedition,  and  appeared 
almost  exasperated  at  the  madness  of  such  an  un- 
reasonable movement.  Addressing  the  commander, 
says  he,  "  You  have  come  to  raise  a  nest  of  wasps 
about  your  ears ;  and  then  you  will  flee  away." 

Gardner,  however,  upon  reflection,  and  in  obedi- 
ence to  orders,  re-enforced  the  expedition  with  two 
shallops  and  twenty  men. 

They  remained  four  days  by  reason  of  stress  of 
weather ;  and  then  they  advanced  along  the  coast  of 
the  western  Nehantics.  As  they  passed,  the  Indians, 
at  the  sight  of  so  many  vessels,  innocently  and  un- 


DREAD   ALARMS.  97 

suspiciously  came  running  to  the  shore  in  large 
numbers  to  inquire  the  object  of  their  visit.  "  What 
cheer?  Englishmen  !  "  they  shouted.  "  What  do  you 
come  for?" 

The  craft  kept  steadily  on,  making  no  answer 
(for  they  seemed  to  have  none  to  make).  When 
arriving  at  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  and  when,  as 
it  appeared,  the  white  men  would  not  answer,  the 
Indians  turned  and  began  to  cry,  "Are  you  angry, 
Englishmen  ?  Will  you  kill  us  ?  " 

No  answer  was  returned.  The  vessels  silently 
passed  down  the  river,  cast  anchor  far  from  the  shore  ; 
and  the  anxious  Pequots  sadly  turned  away. 

Dread  alarms  reverberated  through  the  wilderness 
that  night ;  and  next  day  the  Pequots  in  that  neigh- 
borhood were  few.  It  being  late  in  the  season,  the 
expedition  was  finally  given  up.  By  such  a  demon- 
stration, that  wicked,  barbarous  nation  the  Pequots 
were  driven  to  desperation ;  and  a  reckless  warfare 
again  commenced.  In  the  field,  in  the  forest,  on  the 
highway,  in  the  church,  or  in  the  cot,  danger,  like  a 
pestilence  at  noonday  or  at  night,  to  men,  innocent 
women,  and  helpless  children,  followed  all  alike. 

At  Saybrook  in  October,  1636,  five  men,  while 
haying  in  a  meadow,  were  attacked ;  and  one  of 
them,  by  the  name  of  Butterfield,  was  killed ;  and 
that  meadow  bears  the  dead  man's  name  to  this  day. 


98  INDIAN    WARS. 

About  fourteen  days  afterwards,  two  men  were 
taken  in  a  cornfield  two  miles  from  Saybrook  Fort. 
Within  a  mile  of  the  fort  six  men  were  surrounded 
by  two  or  three  hundred  Indians.  Four  escaped  ;  two 
were  taken :  the  two  of  course  were  slain.  Advan- 
cing, they  killed  one  cow,  and  shot  arrows  into 
others. 

Oct.  21,  the  friendly  Miantonomo,  a  Narragansett, 
with  two  sons  of  CANONICUS,  came  to  Boston  with 
twenty  other  Indians,  to  give  notice  to  the  English 
of  the  approaching  dangers.  Katashamakin  also 
sought  a  conference  with  the  governor ;  and  giving 
notice  of  his  purpose,  a  military  company,  being 
ordered,  met  him  at  Roxbury  and  escorted  him  into 
Boston. 

Here  at  this  time  he  made  an  alliance  against  the 
Pequqts,  agreeing  with  the  English  that  neither 
party  should  make  peace  with  the  Pequots  without 
consent  of  the  other,  and  made  it  a  duty  to  de- 
liver up  murderers,  or  to  put  them  to  death. 

John  Tilley  about  the  same  time  was  sailing  down 
the  Connecticut  in  a  boat ;  and  within  about  three 
miles  of  Saybrook  Fort  he  shot  at  some  game.  The 
Pequots,  hearing  the  report  of  his  gun,  overtook  him, 
tortured  and  maimed  him  in  the  most  brutal  manner, 
and  at  length  cut  off  his  legs  and  arms,  cruelly 
leaving  him  alive.  He  lingered  about  three  days. 


AN   ALLIED  ARMY  MOVES.  99 

He  was  denominated  "  a  stout'  man  "  by  his  tor- 
mentors. A  man  who  at  the  same  time  ^sas  with 
Tilley  was  also  kiUed. 

On  Feb.  22,  1636,  several  Englishmen,  as  they 
went  out  from  Saybrook  Fort,  were  decoyed  into  an 
ambush  by  the  Pequots;  and  four  of  them  were 
slain.  The  others  with  great  difficulty  made  their 
escape. 

At  Wethersfield  (same  year)  April  12,  six  men 
and  three  women  were  murdered ;  two  young 
women  were  carried  away ;  and  one  horse  and 
twenty  cows  were  killed. 

Next,  then,  there  was  extraordinary  alarm  through- 
out these  English  plantations.  Miantonomo  had 
sent  a  notice  to  Boston  that  the  Pequots  had  sent 
their  women  and  children  away  to  an  Island. 

Forty  men  were  thereupon  raised  and  sent  to 
Narragansett,  to  join  others  to  be  raised  by  Mianto- 
nomo himself,  with  the  design  of  falling  in  upon  the 
Pequot  warriors  by  a  surprise,  and  driving  them  out 
of  the  world. 

About  this  time  Capt.  Mason,  with  ninety  men 
raised  in  Connecticut,  had  been  sent  away  to  make 
war  against  the  Pequots.  The  famous  Uncas^  with  a 
large  body  of  his  warriors,  advanced  with  Mason ; 
and  on  their  march  to  Saybrook,  May  15,  1637,  they 
fell  upon  about  thirty  Pequots,  killed  seven  of 


100  INDIAN    WAKS. 

them,  and  placed  their  heads  on  the  walls  of  the 
fort  at  Saybrook. 

Immediately  afterwards  Capts.  Mason  and  Under- 
bill advanced  to  take  one  of  the  forts  of  the  enemy, 
which  was  situated  on  a  rise  of  ground,  where 
Groton,  Conn.,  now  stands.  The  English,  and 
about  five  hundred  allied  Indians  arrived  there  on 
the  25th  of  May,  and  surrounded  the  eminence  before 
day  on  the  morning  of  the  26th ;  and  the  battle  was 
obstinate,  furious,  and  bloody.  Beforehand,  however, 
the  Mohegans  and  Narragansetts  had  begun  in  their 
talk  to  hesitate,  thinking  that  the  English  would  not 
stand  their  ground  as  against  the  Pequots  led  by  so 
brave  a  sagamore  as  Sassacus. 

Thereupon  Mason  and  Underbill,  who  commanded 
the  seventy-nine  Englishmen,  called  up  Uncas,  who 
was  to  lead  the  Mohegans,  and  Wequash,  a  fugitive 
Pequot  chief  who  had  acted  as  a  pilot,  and  who  was 
to  assist  in  the  lead  of  the  Narragansetts,  and 
endeavored  to  excite  them  to  bravery,  urging  them 
to  follow  the  English ;  and  then,  the  battle  com- 
mencing, the  Pequots  swarmed  out  against  them 
furiously.  On  the  other  hand,  the  allied  Indians, 
although  they  kept  at  respectable  distances  from  the 
front,  maintained  their  ground,  and  did  good  service 
in  heading  off  the  fugitive  Pequots,  as  the  fight  ex- 
tended along  the  way  for  several  miles. 


THE   PEQUOT   SLAUGHTER.  101 

The  English  had  but  seventy-seven  men,  which 
were  divided  into  two  companies,  one  led  by  Mason, 
and  the  other  by  Underbill.  The  hostile  Pequots 
were  all  within  their  wigwam-fort,  asleep.  The 
barking  of  a  dog  was  the  first  notice  they  had  of  the 
approach  of  the  allied  forces ;  yet  none  of  them 
knew  the  cause  of  the  alarm,  until  met  at  their 
gates  by  the  foe. 

The  fort  had  two  entrances  at  opposite  points, 
into  which  each  party  of  English  were  led,  sword  in 
hand.  "  Wanux,  Wanux!"  (English,  English)  was 
the  wailing  cry  of  the  five  hundred  savages  within 
the  distracted  wigwams  of  the  fort. 

The  bow  and  the  arrow,  or  even  the  tomahawk, 
were  as  nothing  to  them  then.  The  English,  rapiers  in 
hand,  backed  up  by  the  Mohegans  and  Narragansetts, 
from  wigwam  to  wigwam,  pursued  and  slaughtered 
them  in  every  place.  Men,  women,  and  children,  all 
were  falling,  one  after  another,  without  reservation 
or  distinction.  At  length  fire  was  set  in  the  mats 
and  other  combustible  material  that  covered  the 
wigwams :  it  furiously  spread  over  the  whole  fort ; 
and  the  dead  and  dying  were  together  consumed. 

A  part  of  the  English  had  formed  a  circle  around 
and  on  the  outside  of  the  fort ;  and  they  made  it  a 
business  to  shoot  all  those  that  attempted  to  fly. 
Some  of  them  tried  to  ascend  the  pickets  to  escape 


102  INDIAN   WARS. 

the  flames,  but  fell,  being  shot  down.  Upwards  of 
five  hundred  Pequots  perished  in  this  battle.  Two 
only  of  the  English  were  killed ;  and  about  twenty 
of  them  were  wounded.  Sassacus  himself  was  in 
another  fort,  and,  being  informed  of  the  fate  of  his 
tribes,  destroyed  his  habitation,  and  with  about 
thirty  others  fled  to  the  Mohawks  ;  but  the  faithless 
Mohawks  treacherously  beheaded  him,  and  made  a 
return  of  his  scalp  to  the  English.  Thus  perished 
the  Pequots ;  and  thus  ended  the  Pequot  war,  and 
almost  the  entire  Pequot  race.  Yamoyden  the  poet 
celebrates  this  battle  as  follows  :  — 

"  And  Sassacus,  now  no  more, 
Lord  of  a  thousand  bowmen,  fled ; 
And  all  the  chiefs,  his  boast  before, 
Were  mingled  with  the  unhonored  dead. 
Sannap  and  sagamore  were  slain 
On  Mystic's  banks,  in  one  red  night : 
The  once  far-dreaded  king  in  vain 
Sought  safety  in  inglorious  flight ; 
And,  reft  of  all  his  regal  pride, 
By  the  fierce  Maqua's  hand  he  died." 

At  this  terrible  battle,*  waged  as  it  was  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  their  Indian  allies  on  the  one  side,  and  by 

*  Cotton  Mather  says,  that,  while  this  Pequot  battle  at  the  fort  was 
progressing,  a  party  of  three  hundred  of  them  from  another  place 
came  up,  and  that  they  "acted  like  hears  bereft  of  their  whelps;" 


WAILINGS   AT   THE   LOSS   OF   A  NATION.         103 

the  perfidious  Pequots  on  the  other,  Sassacus,  their 
great  sachem,  was  away.  Some  eighty  of  his  men 
also  were  away  guarding  another  locality,  who,  as 
appears,  subsequently  came  in,  and  rallied  in  the  fight. 
Tragical  indeed  was  that  scene  on  the  morrow. 
When  the  news  of  the  loss  of  his  nation  fell  upon 
the  ears  of  Sassacus,  and  his  eyes  came  to  behold 
the  ruins  of  his  great  wigwam  fortress,  together 
with  the  dead  and  mangled  bodies  of  his  slaughtered 
tribes,  he  with  his  thirty  attendants  appearing  as 
the  pitiful  remnant  of  a  powerful  nation,  the  pic- 
ture was  indeed  pitiful.  The  dead  extended  from 
the  fort  to  distant  swamps ;  and  the  whole  loss  to  the 
Pequots,  first  and  last,  was  nearly  seven  hundred. 
Mather  says,  "  When  they  came  to  see  the  ashes  of 
their  friends  mingled  with  the  ashes  of  their  fort, 
and  the  bodies  of  so  many  of  their  countrymen  ter- 
ribly '  barbikew'd,'  where  the  English  had  been 
doing  a  good  morning's  work,  they  howled,  they 
roared,  they  stamped,  they  tore  their  hair ;  and, 
though  they  did  not  swear  (for  they  knew  not  how), 
yet  they  cursed,  and  were  the  very  pictures  of  so 
many  devils  in  desperation."  This  was  the  last  day 
of  Sassacus  on  his  old  hunting-grounds  in  the  val- 

that  they  "  combined  a  bloody  tight  for  miles  together  ;  "  that  they 
made  a  fort  of  every  swamp  in  their  way,  until  they  became  finally 
"  discouraged,  and  gave  over  "  at  a  place  called  Fairneld. 


104  INDIAN   WARS. 

leys  of  the  Connecticut,  and  along  the  beautiful 
Thames.  His  hand  had  been  raised  against  every 
man's  hand ;  his  hostile  nation  had  left  its  scars  on 
the  red,  brawny  faces  of  all  the  neighboring  tribes : 
and  now,  while  he  stood  there  in  sight  of  the  horrors 
of  that  tragic  morning,  amid  the  mangled  bodies  of 
his  tribes,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  wailings  which 
Mather  has  described,  —  whither,  oh  whither  now 
should  he  fly  ?  His  thirty  bereaved  friends,  the  rem- 
nant of  his  mighty  tribes,  then  filling  the  air  with 
their  lamentations,  were  powerless  to  aid,  to  comfort, 
or  to  tell  him.  The  English  were  away  ;  but,  reek- 
ing with  vengeance,  they  were  as  yet  on  the  alert, 
and  were  yet  seeking  Us  blood.  Where,  to  whom, 
should  he  fly  ?  Like  a  wounded  deer  pursued  by  the 
hounds  he  leaped :  he  fled  away  for  the  Mohawks. 
The  Mohawks  !  and  they,  too,  were  still  bearing  upon 
their  bodies  the  same  deep-cut  scars  which  Sassacus 
himself  had  made;  and  oh,  what  madness!  No- 
where else  could  he  go.  Forgetting  his  own  bloody 
aggressions,  and  depending  for  his  life  upon  an 
unforgiving,  merciless  Mohawk,  impetuous,  he  flew 
away  to  him,  still  meditating  vengeance,  and  whose 
hostile  tribes  on  the  borders  of  New  York  destroyed 
him,  and  then  afterwards  waged  war  upon  Passacon- 
away.  It  was  thus  Sassacus  fell. 

The  wrath  of  the   English,  and  of  their   allied 


FATE   OF   SASSACUS.  105 

Mohegans  and  Narragansetts,  had  swept  over  his 
nation  like  a  pestilence  ;  and  then,  like  a  fish  at  the 
net,  and  the  bird  caught  in  the  snare,  Sassacus  per- 
ished at  the  hand  of  the  Mohawks.  The  Mohawks  (a:, 
if  in  fear  of  the  English),  when  Sassacus  came  falling 
penitently  into  their  open  arms,  murdered  him  in 
cool  blood;  and  then  with  Mohawk  ceremonies 
treacherously  they  transferred  and  transmitted  his 
bleeding  scalp  to  the  English  government  at  Boston. 

Here  ended  the  last  sad  lesson  which  may  be 
taken  from  the  history  of  this  famous,  belligerent, 
fated  Sassacus, — a  lesson  among  many,  wherein  the 
wrath  of  man  has  been  permitted  to  prevail  over  his 
better  passions,  and  where  professed  civilizations  as 
well  as  barbarisms  have  been  at  fault,  through  which 
an  entire  nation  perished  in  a  night ;  and  that  original 
Pequot  tribe  of  New  England  fell,  never  more  to  be 
seen. 

However  cruel  the  provocations,  that  urged  the 
immediate  necessity  of  destroying  the  Pequot  race 
might  be,  yet  the  reader  cannot  but  be  surprised  at 
the  evident  complacency  of  its  leading  enemy,  Cotton 
Mather,  in  announcing  the  result  of  that  murderous 
conflict,  while  he  asserts  that  in  a  little  more  than 
an  hour  "five  or  six  hundred  of  these  barbarians  were 
dismissed  from  a  world  that  was  burdened  with  them." 

He  states  that  on  that  bloody  night  of  May  20, 


106  INDIAN   WARS. 

1637,  not  more  than  seven  or  eight  persons  of  all 
that  multitude  of  Pequots  at  the  garrison  escaped : 
these  fled  with  Sassacus  to  the  Mohawks. 

Dwight,   on   this    slaughter,    concludes    a    poem 
thus :  — 

THE  PEQUOTS. 

"  Undaunted,  on  their  foes  they  fiercely  flew, 
As  fierce  the  dusky  warriors  crowd  the  fight; 
Despair  inspires*  dread  combats  strength  renew; 
With  groans  and  shouts  they  rage  unknowing  flight, 
And  close  their  sullen  eyes  in  shades  of  endless  night. 

"  Indulge,  my  native  land,  indulge  the  tear, 
That  steals  impassioned  o'er  a  nation's  doom : 
To  ine  each  twig  from  Adam's  stock  is  near ; 
And  sorrows  fall  upon  an  Indian's  tomb. 

"  And,  oh !  ye  chiefs  in  yonder  starry  home, 
Accept  the  humble  tribute  of  this  rhyme : 
Your  gallant  deeds  in  Greece  or  haughty  Rome, 
By  Maro  sung,  or  Homer's  harp  sublime, 

Had  charmed  the  world's  wide  round,  and  triumphed  over 
time." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


MIANTONIMO. 


Uucas  excites  Suspicions  against  him.  —  A  Hearing  is  had  at 
Boston. — Nothing  is  Proved. — Thence  he  and  Miantonimo 
were  in  Conflict.  —  Another  Hearing  was  had.  —  Uncas  proved  to 
he  hi  the  Wrong.  —Council  disbelieve  the  Witness.  —The  Wit- 
ness murdered.  —  Uncas  is  waylaid  and  shot  at.  — He  demands 
for  it  that  Six  of  Sequassen's  Men  shall  be  delivered  to  him  to 
he  put  to  Death.  —  One  is  adjudged  Sufficient. — Sequassen,  as 
probably  advised  by  Miantonimo,  would  not  give  him  up.  — 
Miantonimo  threatens  War  against  Uncas.  —  English  do  not 
object  to  it.  —  Uncas  invades  Sequassen.  —  Miantonimo  then 
invades  Uncas. — Uncas  routs  Miantonimo's  Force  by  deceitful 
Strategy. — Miantonimo  is  taken  Prisoner. — Imprisoned.  —  The 
Four  Colonies,  under  Advice  of  Fifty  Clergymen,  authorize 
Uncas  to  murder  him.  —  His  Seci-et  Execution. — Burial  on 
Sachem  Plain. —The  Narragansetts  visit  his  Grave. — Ven- 
geance visits  the  Clergy  of  JSe\v  England. 


-HE  next  war  of  much  importance  after  the 
destruction  of  the  Pequot  nation  was 
that  of  the  Mohegans,  commanded  by 
Uncas,  against  the  Narragansetts,  led  by 
the  adroit,  the  ambitious,  but  the  fated 

Miantonimo. 

107 


108         -  INDIAN    WARS. 

"  Two  mighty  chiefs,  one  cautious,  wise,  and  old, 

One  young  and  strong  and  terrible  in  fight, 
All  Narragansett  and  Coweset  hold : 

One  lodge  they  build  ;  one  council-fire  they  light." 

DORFEE. 

In  1640  suspicions  arose  among  the  English  chief 
magistrates  at  Boston  that  Miantonimo  was  brooding 
dissensions,  and  that  he,  as  the  leader  of  the  Narru- 
gansetts,  was  endeavoring  to  excite  the  tribes  to  a 
general  rebellion  against  the  four  colonies. 

Miantonimo  accordingly  was  summoned,  and,  ap- 
pearing before  the  governor,  claimed  that  his  accus- 
ers should  be  held  to  appear  at  the  same  time,  that 
they  might  meet  him  face  to  face ;  he  averred  that 
Uncas  and  the  Mohegans  had  become  his  enemies, 
were  busy  in  malicious  slanders ;  and,  demanding  an 
investigation,  he  urged  that  his  accusers,  if  found  in 
the  wrong,  should  be  put  to  death. 

Nothing  of  importance  was  proved  against  him ; 
but  from  that  tune,  of  course,  Uncas  and  Miantonimo 
were  enemies ;  and  one  evening,  while  Uncas  was 
passing  from  one  wigwam  to  another,  an  arrow  was 
shot  at  him  by  an  unknown  marksman.  It  went 
through  his  arm,  inflicting  a  painful  wound.  It 
appeared  soon  afterwards  that  a  young  Pequot  had 
a  considerable  quantity  of  wampum.  This  aroused 
suspicion.  The  Pequot,  as  if  conscious  of  guilt,  fled 


MOHEGANS  AGAINST  NARRAGANSETTS.          109 

to  the  Narragansetts,  and  took  refuge  under  and 
within  the  wigwams  of  Miantonimo. 

Thereupon  Uncas  called  the  matter  up ;  and 
Miantonimo  was  again  called  before  the  council  at 
Boston  ;  and  the  Pequot,  being  called  there  as  a  wit- 
ness, went  on  to  testify  as  to  how  at  one  time  he  was 
staying  at  Uncas's  fort ;  how  Uncas  then  and  there 
had  tampered  with  him,  had  tried  to  induce  him  to 
tell  the  English  that  Miantonimo  had  employed  him 
to  kill  Uncas, ;  and  how  Uncas,  as  if  to  make  this 
story  effective,  took  a  flint  from  his  gun,  and  cut  his 
own  arm  on  two  sides,  leaving  it  as  if  an  arrow  had 
gone  through  it. 

This  story,  not  being  believed  by  the  English,  op- 
erated in  their  minds  against  Miantonimo,  who  intro- 
duced him  ;  and  they  at  once  decreed  the  Pequot  to 
be  delivered  over  to  Uncas  and  his  Mohegans,  and 
by  this  intended  to  subject  him  to  their  vengeance. 

Miantonimo,  having  induced  this  Pequot  to  attend 
this  trial,  claimed  the  right  of  returning  him  to  his 
(the  Pequot's)  own  hunting-ground,  promising  that 
upon  arriving  there  he  would  deliver  him  up  to 
Uncas.  This  was  allowed ;  and  the  two  parties  sepa- 
rated. But  for  some  reason  the  Pequot  was  not 
permitted  to  return  home. 

The  friends  and  followers  of  Miantonimo  know- 
ing "  that  it  would  be  a  great  gratification  to  their 


HO  INDIAN   WARS. 

enemies  the  Mohegans,  to  wreak  vengeance  on  this 
witness,"  and  knowing  that  a  dead  man  could  tell  no 
further  tales,  they,  while  on  the  way  with  him  home- 
ward, murdered  him  themselves. 

Enmity  existed  between  Sequassen,  sachem  of 
the  tribes  of  "  the  river  country,"  who  was  of  Con- 
necticut, and  who  was  friendly  to  Miantonimo  and  to 
the  Mohegans.  Soon  after  the  happening  of  that 
event,  some  of  his  Indians  slew  a  leading  Mohegan. 
They  also  waylaid  Uncas,  tried  to  poison  him,  and, 
while  paddling  his  canoe  at  one  time,  shot  arrows  at 
him  on  the  Connecticut.  Of  all  this  Uncas  com- 
plained, and  before  the  authorities  at  Hartford, 
Conn.,  claimed  that  for  this  murder  and  other  tres- 
passes he  ought  to  have  six  of  Sequassen's  men,  in 
order  that  he  might  put  them  to  death. 

The  governor  remonstrated  against  a  demand 
which  seemed  to  him  to  be  so  captious  and  unrea- 
sonable. Finally,  he  induced  Uncas  to  be  content 
if  he  could  have  the  man  who  had  committed  the 
murder. 

Inasmuch  as  the  assassin  was  a  friend  and  relative 
of  Miantonimo,  Sequassen,  being  called  on  to  that 
end,  refused  to  deliver  him  up,  relying  as  to  this  upon 
Miantonimo  and  his  Narragansetts  for  assistance  in 
the  maintenance  of  this  purpose. 

Thus  the  magistrates,  failing  in  all  attempts  to  pro- 


UNCAS  AGAINST  MIANTONIMO.  Ill 

duce  a  reconciliation,  dismissed  the  two  sachems 
(Uncas  and  Sequassen),  but  at  the  same  time 
advised  UNCAS  to  avenge  his  own  grievances. 
UNCAS,  immediately  advancing  to  do  so,  invaded 
Sequassen's  territory,  killed  seven  or  eight  of  his 
warriors,  wounded  thirteen  others,  burnt  up  his  wig- 
wams, and  plundered  wherever  he  went. 

This  news  from  Connecticut  soon  reached  the  Nar- 
ragansetts ;  and  Miantonimo  thereupon  began  to 
meditate  war.  He  sent  a  message  to  the  Connecti- 
cut governor,  complaining  of  the  action  of  UNCAS 
against  Sequassen  and  his  allies,  the  Indians  of  Con- 
necticut River.  The  governor  refused  to  interfere  in 
this  matter.  Miantonimo  gave  notice  of  what  the 
Mohegans  under  UNCAS  had  done  to  the  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  and  earnestly  inquired  if  the  people 
of  the  bay  would  be  offended  if  he  should  make 
war  against  the  Mohegans,  and  obtained  for  a  reply, 
"  that  if  UNCAS  had  done  him  or  his  friends  any 
wrong,  and  had  refused  to  grant  satisfaction, 
the  English  would  leave  him  to  choose  his  own 
course" 

By  these  complaints  made  to  the  English  govern- 
ors, this  chief  had  complied  with  the  terms  of  his 
treaty  with  them  in  1638 ;  and  at  once  he  accordingly 
proceeded  to  collect  a  large  band  of  Narragansett 
warriors,  and  thence  proceeded  with  secrecy  and  alac- 


112  INDIAN   WARS. 

rity,  to  make  invasions  against  the  forts  and  hunting- 
grounds  of  the  Mohegans. 

Now,  then,  from  the  lofty  hills  of  Norwich,  the 
Mohegan  watchers  began  to  discover  the  hostile  Nar- 
ragansetts as  they  emerged  "  from  the  old  forest,  and 
crossed  the  river  Shetucket  above  its  junction  with 
the  Quinnibaug." 

It  was  then  the  runners  dashed  away,  as  it  is  said, 
to  carry  the  startling  intelligence  to  Uncas,  and  to 
excite  him  to  call  out  and  to  rally  his  warriors  to 
the  battle. 

His  fort  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  some 
five  miles  below ;  and  it  was  there  that  the  messen- 
gers probably  found  him. 

Uncas  rallied ;  -and,  from  their  various  tents  in  the 
dark  forest,  they  swarmed  forth  to  advance  upon  the 
invading  Narragansetts,  then  numbering,  according 
to  the  best  estimation,  about  six  hundred  warriors. 

Uncas,  then  present  on  the  field  at  Norwich  with 
his  tribes,  numbered  in  all  three  hundred  men. 
And  there,  in  front  of  his  men  on  the  rise  of  ground 
upon  "  the  Great  Plain"  Uncas  cautioned  his  men, 
and  made  known  to  them  the  strategy  by  which  he 
would  win  the  battle  against  the  veteran  Mianto- 
nimo,  and  against  his  superiority  of  numbers. 

In  ihe  mean  time  (as  De  Forest's  history  has  it), 
the  Narragansetts  had  crossed  the  fords  of  the  Yan- 


BATTLE  OF   SACHEM  PLAIN.  113 

tic,  and  were  in  loose  ranks  descending  the  declivities 
nearly  opposite  to  the  Mohegans. 

Uncas  despatched  a  messenger  to  Miantonimo,  ask- 
ing an  interview.  It  being  granted,  the  two  com- 
manders met  for  a  conference  between  the  two 
armies  that  then  awaited  the  issue,  all  in  breathless 
suspense,  and  all  within  bow-shot  of  their  formidable 
deadly  enemies,  with  eager  eyes  intent  upon  the 
movements  of  their  two  gallant  sagamores. 

The  Narragansetts  still  waiting!  —  the  Mohegan 
army  listening  and  watching  for  the  signal ! 

Uncas  urges  Miantonimo  against  the  folly  of 
wasting  the  precious  lives  of  their  warriors  in  a  con- 
test which  might  as  well  be  settled  by  themselves 
alone. 

"  Let  us  fight  it  out"  said  Uncas.  "  If  you  kill  me, 
my  men  shall  be  yours :  if  I  kill  you,  your  men  shall 
be  mine" 

Miantonimo,  although  in  person  tall  and  strong, 
desiring  rather  to  depend  on  his  strength  of  num- 
bers made  immediate  answer,  — 

"My  men  came  to  fight;  and  they  shall  fight!  "  Such 
an  answer  Uncas  had  of  course  expected.  He  at 
once  fell  upon  the  ground.  His  forces  recognizing  the 
signal,  with  bow  in  hand,  quick  as  sight,  they  let  fly 
three  hundred  arrows  to  the  hearts  of  the  Narragan- 
setts. 


114  INDIAN   WARS, 

"  Uncas  sprang  up  ;  and  his  warriors  pealing  forth 
the  yell  of  battle,  and  brandishing  their  tomahawks, 
rushed  forward  with  him"  upon  the  staggering 
enemy. 

The  Narragansetts,  panic-struck  at  the  assault, 
made  but  feeble  resistance,  and  were  speedily  put 
to  flight. 

The  Mohegans  followed  them  with  impetuous 
fury,  drove  them  through  the  shallows  of  the  river, 
and  chased  them  far  into  the  forests  beyond.  All 
over  that  rude  and  hilly  country  (as  tradition  told 
it),  the  pursuers  and  pursued  might  be  seen  leaping 
over  rocks  and  dashing  through  thickets,  like  wolves 
in  the  chase  of  timid  deer. 

Miantonimo  fled  with  his  followers  ;  but  his  flight 
was  impeded  by  an  English  corselet  which  he  had 
put  on  to  protect  him  in  battle.  Two  of  the  Mohe- 
gans followed  him  closely,  and  still  further  pre- 
vented his  escape  by  springing  against  him,  and 
jostling  him  as  he  ran.  They  said  they  might  have 
taken  or  killed  him  with  their  own  hands  ;  but  this 
honor  they  were  willing  to  reserve  to  their  sachem. 

The  first  of  these  men  who  followed  the  flying 
chieftain  was  a  sagamore  named  Tantaquigeon, 
whose  descendants  were  long  held  noble  among  the 
Mohegans,  and  whose  renown  for  a  long  time  was 
matter  of  boast  among  the  Mohegans. 


MIANTONB1O  A  PRISONER.  115 

Uncas,  a  robust,  muscular  man,  finally  came  up,  and 
seized  Miantonimo  by  the  shoulder.  The  ill-fated 
sachem,  as  soon  as  he  felt  the  hand  of  his  enemy 
upon  him,  ceased  his  flight,  and  sat  down  upon  the 
ground.  From  his  closed  lips  not  a  word  came  to 
indicate  his  misery  at  heart. 

Thirty  of  the  Narragansetts  had  been  slain;  and 
many  more  were  wounded.  The  rest,  without  an 
effort  to  wipe  out  their  disgrace  or  to  rescue  their 
captive  sachem,  retreated  to  their  own  "  prescribed 
dominions." 

Miantouimo  remained  silent,  although  some  of  his 
own  followers  were  brought  up  and  tomahawked 
before  his  eyes. 

Uncas  was  disappointed  in  not  being  able  to  draw 
out  from  him  a  single  confession  of  weakness  or  fear. 

"  Why  do  you  not  speak  ?  "  said  he.  "  If  you  had 
taken  me,  I  should  have  besought  you  for  my  life." 
But  he  obtained  no  answer. 

This  chief  was  carried  in  triumph  to  the  fortress, 
and  was  there  held.  A  truce  was  opened  between 
the  tribes,  to  remain  while  this  prisoner  remained 
there  at  the  fort. 

The  Narragansetts  sent  their  chief  several  pack- 
ages of  wampum  while  he  remained  imprisoned, 
which  the  prisoner  gave  away,  some  to  Uncas,  some 


116  INDIAN  WAKS. 

to  Uncas's  wife,  and  some  to  his  favorite  counsel- 
lors. 

The  English  in  Rhode  Island  took  sides  in  favor 
of  this  sachem.  He  had  won  their  good- will ;  and 
they  believed  him  mainly  in  the  right.  And  one 
Samuel  Gorton,  a  wild-headed  enthusiast,  yet  kind- 
hearted,  also  beset  Uncas  to  liberate  him.  Uncas 
refused,  but  finally  referred  the  matter  to  his  old 
friends  the  English  of  Connecticut,  as  to  whether 
he  should  try  still  to  hold  him,  release,  or  put  him  to 
death. 

While  the  matters  were  maturing  before  the 
English  authorities,  it  had  been  affirmed  by  the 
adherents  of  Uncas  that  Miantonimo  had  engaged 
the  Mohawks  to  join  him,  and  that  they  were  then 
encamped  within  a  day's  journey  of  the  frontiers, 
and  were  awaiting  his  liberation. 

Then  and  thereupon  the  English  record  is  finally 
made  up  as  against  old  Miantonimo,  who  in  his  long 
lifetime  had  extended  to  the  English  settlers  in  New 
England  so  many  favors,  thus :  — 

"  These  things  being  duly  weighed  and  considered,  the  com- 
missioners apparently  see  that  Uncas  cannot  be  safe  while 
Miantonimo  lives ;  but  that,  either  by  secret  treachery  or  open 
force,  his  life  will  be  still  in  danger. 

"  Wherefore  they  think  he  may  justly  put  such  a  false  and 


MURDER  OF  MIANTONIMO.  117 

blood-thirsty  enemy  to  death,  but  in  his  own  jurisdiction,  not 
in  the  English  plantations ;  and  advisinrj  that  in  the  manner  of 
his  death  all  mercy  and  moderation  be  showed,  contrary  to  the 
practice  of  the  Indians,  who  exercise  tortures  and  cruelty. 

"  And  Uncos  having  hitherto  shown  himself  a  friend  to  the 
English,  and  in  this  craving  of  their  advice,  if  the  Narragan- 
sett  Indians  or  others  shall  unjustly  assault  Uncos  for  his  exe- 
cutioi. ,  upon  notice  and  request  the  English  promise  to  assist 
and  protect  him  as  far  as  they  may  against  such  violence." 

Before  dismissing  the  Narragansett  deputies  who 
had  attended  with  earnest  solicitation  upon  the  trial, 
the  commissioners  induced  them  to  subscribe  to 
articles  of  agreement,  as  follows :  — 

"  That  they  (the  Narragansetts)  would  not  make  war  upon 
Uncos,  until  after  the  next  planting  of  corn ;  and  even  then,  that 
they  should  give  thirty  days'  notice  to  the  English  before  com- 
mencing hostilities :  also,  that,  if  any  of  the  Nayantick 
Pequots  should  make  any  assault  upon  Uncos  or  any  of  /<w,  they 
would  deliver  them  up  to  the  English  to  be  punished  according  to 
their  demerits  ;  and  that  they  should  not  use  any  means  to  pro- 
cure the  Mohawks  to  come  against  Uncos  during  this  truce." 

MASSACRE  OF  MIANTONIMO. 

The  decision  was  kept  an  entire  secret,  lest  the 
tribes  should  know  of  it,  and  arrest  the  commis- 
sioners while  on  their  way  home,  to  hold  them  as 
hostages  for  the  redemption  of  Miantonimo  ;  and  all 
the  preliminaries  of  killing  him  were  written  down, 
for  the  time  being  to  be  kept  secret. 


118  INDIAN   WARS. 

As  soon  as  Eaton  and  other  commissioners  were 
far  enough  towards  home  to  be  out  of  reach  of  the 
tribes,  then  Uncas,  attended  by  his  brother  Wawequa, 
with  a  select  band  of  warriors,  was  to  take  the 
prisoner  from  the  jail  in  Hartford,  which  they  ac 
cordingly  did.  And,  pursuant  to  instructions,  they 
travelled  back  through  the  forest  with  the  old,  war- 
worn sachem ;  and,  when  they  came  to  the  plain 
where  the  battle  was  fought,  Wawequa,  stepping 
behind  Miantonimo,  split  him  down  with  a  hatchet ; 
and  there  they  murdered  him. 

What  the  names  of  those  reverend  Englishmen 
were,  referred  to  in  the  following  page,  does  not  ap- 
pear in  the  annals  which  I  am  now  consulting,  and 
that  too,  perhaps,  for  the  best  of  reasons. 

It,  however,  does  appear,  that,  while  the  flesh  of 
Miantonimo  was  yet  warm  at  his  death,  Uncas  cut  a 
large  piece  from  his  shoulder,  and  ate  it  down  with 
savage  exultation,  saying,  "  It  is  the  sweetest  meat  1 
ever  ate.  It  makes  me  strong  !  " 

They  buried  him  there  on  Sachem's  Plain.  A 
friend  piled  up  a  heap  of  stones  there  ;  and,  for  a 
hundred  years,  every  Narragansett  that  passed  that 
way  turned,  in  his  sadness,  and  added  one  stone  to 
the  pile. 

That  battle-field  still  retains  the  name  of  Sachem's 
Plain. 


COLONIAL  ARBITRATIONS. 


119 


This  trial  and  murder  by  referees  was  had  at 
Boston,  Sept.  17,  1643. 

The  commission  before  whom  this  venerable 
sachem's  fate  was  determined  consisted  of  the  fol- 
lowing members,  as  the  representatives  of  the  four 
colonies,  to  wit,  — 


John  Winthrop, 
Thomas  Dudley, 
Edward  Winslow, 
William  Collier, 


Plymouth. 


George  Fenwick,  ) 
Edward  Hopkins,  ', 
Theophilus  Eaton, 
Thomas  Gregson,  '. 


In  the  startling,  extraordinary  proceedings  and 
decision  of  the  commissioners  above  named,  it  is 
perhaps  to  their  credit,  that  they  could  not  make  up 
their  minds  to  spill  the  blood  of  the  gallant  old 
MIANTONIMO,  until  they  had  summoned  to  their 
assistance  a  train  of  fifty  clergymen,  who  from  their 
number  selected  five  who  were  subtle  enough  to 
become  the  scape-goats  to  carry  off  the  sins  of  white 
men  in  seeking  the  blood  of  one  who,  during  a  long 
and  painful  life,  had  with  extraordinary  good-will 
and  sagacity  invariably  proved  the  friend,  and  who, 
in  that  hour  of  trial,  with  no  guilt  upon  his  gar- 
ments, had  thrown  himself  into  their  arms  for  pro- 
tection. That  the  Mohawks,  having  a  deadly  hate 
to  the  Pequot  Sassaeus,  when  he  thus  imploringly 
threw  himself  upon  them,  murdered  him,  was  terri- 
ble ;  but  when  a  company  of  white  men,  with  reli- 


120  INDIAN   WARS. 

gion  and  civilization  uppermost  upon  their  tongues, 
will  condescend  to  make  merchandise  of  innocent 
blood,  not  through  prejudice,  mistake,  or  malice,  but 
through  an  inordinate  desire  to  obtain  a  political 
advantage,  or  to  seek  dominion  through  blood  in  a 
manner  foreign  to  a  fair,  open  warfare,  the  humane 
heart  is  made  pale  and  pitiful :  it  falls  sick  in  sight 
of  it. 

The  injustice  of  this  massacre  of  Miantonimo 
must  have  been  felt  at  the  time  in  every  vein  of  all 
New  England,  while  it  foreshadowed  what  deeds  of 
blood  white  men  could  be  led  to  seek  and  sanction. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  have  created  an  abiding 
distrust  in  the  hearts  of  red  men  never  to  be  oblite- 
rated. It  proclaimed  a  precedent  which,  in  the  ad- 
vancing years,  daily  and  nightly  brought  premature 
death  to  scores  of  the  reverend  clergy  of  New  Eng- 
land, however  perfect  and  pure  their  lives,  or  how- 
ever kind  and  circumspect  their  demeanor  towards 
the  tribes.  Alas!  how,  in  sight  of  the  unjust 
slaughter  of  Miantoninw,  can  we  wonder  at  the 
record  which  history  discloses  for  the  hundred  years 
then  next  ensuing,  wherein  it  appears,  all  the  way 
long,  more  clergymen  fell  in  New  England  by  the 
blade  of  the  tomahawk,  according  to  their  numbers, 
than  of  any  other  class  of  mortals  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


INDIAN  WARS. — NATIVE  PEACE-MAKERS. 


Dominion  of  Passaconaway. — His  Oration. — Eliot  at  Pawtucket 
Falls.  —The  Great  Feast.  — Wonalancet  of  Wamesit,  peaceful.  — 
Ninegret's  Dominions.  — The  English  distrust  him.  — He  offends 
the  Tribes  of  Long  Island.  —  His  Address  to  the  English  Magis- 
trates. — Cotton  Mather  against  Barbarism.  —  His  Opinion  of  the 
Pequots. 


S  we  have  already  seen,  one  of  the  most 
powerful  tribes  in  New  England  were  the 
Penacooks,  and  next  to  them,  as  allies, 
were  the  Pawtuckets  and  Penobscots. 
The  strongest  and  most  conspicuous  chief 

of  all  the   tribes  in   the  East  was   Passaconaway. 

His   dominion  under,    after,   and    from    Massasoit, 

extended  over  a  very  large  part  of  New  England. 

121 


122  INDIAN   WARS. 

Nearly  all  the  serious  difficulties  tliat  arose  among 
his  people  were  from  time  to  time  submitted  to  his 
consideration  and  decision. 

His  territory  extended  from  the  sea  to  the  moun- 
tains, and  from  the  Penobscot  to  the  Merrimack 
River.  His  places  of  residence  were  at  Pawtucket, 
Piscataqua,  and  at  Penacook.  Thomas  Morton,  in 
his  New-England  Canaan,  writes  of  him  thus :  — 

"  Papsiquimo,  the  sachem  or  sagamore  of  the 
territories  near  Merrimack  River,  is  a  man  of  the 
best  note  and  estimation  in  all  these  parts ;  and  (as 
my  countryman,  Mr.  Wood,  declares  in  his  prospec- 
tus), a  great  necromancer."  We  infer,  from  an 
account  of  him  in  Winthrop's  journal,  that  Passa- 
conaway  was  a  clever  juggler,  as  -well  as  warrior. 

In  full  belief  of  his  supernatural  powers,  his 
tribes  were  held  in  awe  of  him,  and  their  destinies 
were  controlled  in  a  great  degree  by  this,  as  well  as 
by  his  wise  councils.  They  believed  he  could  make 
a  dry  leaf  turn  green;  that  he  could  make  water 
burn,  and  then  make  it  turn  to  ice ;  that  he  could 
hold  the  rattlesnake  in  his  hands  without  danger  of 
hurt  or  harm. 

In  1642  a  suspicion  arose  among  the  English 
that  a  conspiracy  was  being  formed  by  the  Indians 
to  crush  out  the  white  man.  Thereupon  men  were 
sent  out  to  arrest  some  of  the  principal  chiefs,  and 


ELIOT  AT  PAWTTJCKET  FALLS.  123 

forty  of  them  were  directed  to  arrest  Passacoriaway, 
but  he  escaped  by  reason  of  an  intervening  storm. 
His  son,  Wonalancet,  not  being  so  fortunate,  was 
taken,  but  his  squaw  escaped.  As  Winthrop  relates 
it,  they  barbarously  and  insultingly  led  Wonalancet 
away  by  a  rope  ;  that  he  loosened  the  rope  and  escaped 
from  them,  but  was  finally  retaken. 

For  such  a  wrong  Passaconaway  was  afterwards 
distrustful  of  his  English  neighbors.  For  this,  in 
1647,  he  refused  to  see  his  friend  Eliot,  while  both 
were  giving  attendance  to  the  fishing  season  at  Paw- 
tucket  Falls.  Being  fearful  that  the  English  would 
kill  him,  he  regarded  their  religion,  which  seemed  to 
tolerate  such  invasions  upon  the  rights  of  the  red 
man,  to  be  unworthy  of  his  attention. 

But  in  1648,  when  Eliot  again  visited  Pawtucket 
Falls  at  the  fishing  season,  Passaconaway  was  then 
pleased  to  hear  his  preaching.  To  the  assembled 
Indians,  Eliot  then  preached  from  this 

TEXT. 

"  From  tfie  rising  of  the  sun,  even  to  the  going  down 
of  the  same,  my  name  shall  be  great  among  the  G-en- 
tiles ;  and  in  every  place  incense  shall  be  offered  unto 
my  name,  and  a  pure  offering;  for  my  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  heathen,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  — 
MAL.  i.  11. 


124  INDIAN   WARS. 

The  Indians  paid  respectful  attention,  and,  after 
the  discourse  was  closed,  proposed  many  questions. 
At  length  Passaconaway  arose,  amid  the  most  pro- 
found attention,  and  announced  his  belief  in  the 
God  of  the  English.  Says  Eliot,  "  He  said  he  had 
never  heard  of  God  before  as  he  now  doth ;  that  he 
would  consider  the  matter,  and  would  persuade  his 
sons  to  do  the  same,"  pointing  to  two  of  them  who 
were  present.  Passaconaway  was  doubtless  sincere 
in  his  belief,  and,  as  it  appears,  so  continued  until 
his  death. 

We  have  but  little  else  of  this  chief  until  1660, 
when  he  had  become  old.  He  was  at  Pawtucket 
Falls  (now  Lowell),  on  the  Merrimack,  at  a  great 
assemblage  of  Indians,  where,  as  Capt.  Gookin  says, 
they  had  a  great  feast.  The  old  sagamore  then  and 
there  made  a  farewell  address  to  his  tribes.  His  rai- 
ment was  plain,  but  somewhat  gaudy  and  beautiful. 
He  was  full  of  sorrow,  being  deeply  affected ;  his 
utterances  were  tremulous  from  the  storms  of  a  long 
life,  yet  musical.  Standing  erect  before  that  assem- 
bled multitude,  he  delivered  this 

ORATION. 

"  Hearken  to  the  words  of  your  father  !  I  am  an 
old  oak,  that  has  withstood  the  storms  of  more  than  a 
hundred  winters.  Leaves  and  branches  have  been 


PASSACONAWAY'S  OKATION.  125 

stripped  from  me  by  the  winds  and  frosts.  My  eyeg 
are  dim ;  my  limbs  totter ;  I  must  soon  fall.  When 
young,  no  one  could  bury  the  hatchet  in  a  sapling 
before  me.  My  arrows  could  pierce  the  deer  at  a 
hundred  rods.  No  wigwam  had  so  many  furs,  no 
pole  had  so  many  scalp-locks  as  Passaconaway's. 
Then  I  delighted  in  war.  The  whoop  of  the  Pena- 
cooks  was  heard  on  the  Mohawk,  *  and  no  voice  so 
loud  as  Passaconaway's.  The  scalps  upon  the  pole 
in  my  wigwam  told  the  story  of  Mohawk  suffering. 
The  English  came ;  they  seized  the  lands ;  they  fol- 
lowed upon  my  footpath.  I  made  war  on  them; 
but  they  fought  with  fire  and  thunder.  My  young 
men  were  swept  down  before  me  when  no  one  was 
near  them.  I  tried  sorcery  against  them,  but  they 
still  increased,  and  prevailed  over  me  and  mine;  I 
gave  place  to  them,  and  retired  to  my  beautiful 
island,  Naticook.  I,  that  can  take  the  rattlesnake 
in  my  palm  as  I  would  a  worm  without  harm,  —  I, 
that  have  had  communication  with  the  Great  Spirit, 
dreaming  and  awake,  —  I  am  powerless  before  the 
pale-faces.  These  meadows  they  shall  turn  with  the 
plow ;  these  forests  shall  fall  by  the  axe ;  the  pale- 
faces shall  live  upon  your  hunting-grounds,  and 
make  their  villages  upon  your  fishing-places.  The 
Great  Spirit  says  this,  and  it  must  be  so.  We  are 

*  The  Mohawk  tribes  dwelt  on  and  about  the  eastern  borders  of 
New  York. 


126  INDIAN  WARS. 

few  and  powerless  before  them.  We  must  bend 
before  the  storm ;  peace  with  the  white  man  is  the 
command  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  the  wish  —  the 
last  wish  —  of  Passaconaway."  *  Soon  after  this,  his 
mantle  fell  upon  his  son  .Wonalancet,  who  contin- 
ued sagamore  of  the  Penacooks  for  several  years, 
yet  he  was  always  at  peace  with  the  English. 

WONALANCET. 

This  Penacock  sachem  was  the  son  of  Passacona- 
way, succeeded  him,  and  was  chief  over  the  domin- 
ions of  his  deceased  father,  and  dwelt  mostly  at 
"Wamesit,  now  Lowell,  on  the  beautiful  Merrimack, 
from  1660  to  1677. 

Lowell  is  Queen,  her  history  recalls 
The  might  and  memories  of  Pawtucket  Falls, 
Where  lived  the  tribes,  to  proud  progression  blind, 
Science  and  art,  with  enterprise  combined, 
Prove  true  to  tell  how  moves  the  world  apace 
At  the  will  and  wisdom  of  a  Saxon  race. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1675,  the  authorities  of 
Boston,  through  Lieut.  Thomas  Henchman  of 
Chelmsford,  despatched  an  order,  to  be  borne  in 
company  with  two  suitable  Indians  of  Wamesit  to 
this  sachem,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy :  — 

*  Passaconaway  is  said  to  have  lived  to  tlie  age  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years. 


WONALANCET  DISTRUSTED.  127 

"  This  our  writing  or  safe  conduct  doth  declare  that  the 
Governoi  and  Council  of  Massachusetts  do  give  you  and  every 
of  you,  provided  you  exceed  not  six  persons,  free  liberty  of 
coming  unto,  and  returning  in  safety  from,  the  house  of  Lieut. 
T.  Henchman  at  Naamkeake,  and  there  to  treat  with  Capt. 
Daniel  Gookin  and  Mr.  Jolm  Eliot,  whom  you  know,  and  whom 
we  will  fully  empower  to  treat  and  conclude  with  you  upon 
such  meet  terms  and  articles  of  friendship,  amity,  and  subjec- 
tion, as  were  formerly  made  and  concluded  between  the, Eng- 
lish and  old  Passaconaway,  your  father,  and  his  sons  and  people, 
and  for  this  end,  we  have  sent  these  messengers  [  ] 

to  convey  these  unto  you,  and  to  bring  your  answer,  whom  we 
desire  you  to  treat  kindly,  and  to  despatch  them  back  to  us 
with  your  answer.  Dated  in  Boston,  1st  October,  1675. 

JOHN  LEVERETT,  Governor. 
"  EDWARD  RAWSOX,  Secretary." 


The  messengers  did  iiot  find  Wonalancet:  as  it 
appeared,  he  had  retired  into  the  wilderness,  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  did  not  return  until 
the  next  summer. 

He  then  returned,  having  with  him  a  party  of 
Nipmucks,  Sagamore  Sam,  One-Eyed  John,  and 
others  who  had  been  hostile  to  the  English,  but  who 
now  sougnt  pardon  and  aid  through  the  good  faith 
of  Wonalancet. 

Previous  to  the  19th  of  September,  1677,  this 
sachem  sold  out  all  his  titles  to  lands  in  New  Hamp- 
shire and  Massachusetts  not  previously  conveyed, 


128  INDIAN  WARS. 

and  then  left  the  pale  faces,  and  the  graves  of  his 
fathers,  and  sought  a  distant  home  in  the  dense 
forest,  where  no  intruder  could  come  to  disturb  the 
peace  and  quiet  of  his  old  age. 

The  Pawtuckets,  after  his  departure,  gradually 
vanished  away,  through  the  overpowering  numbers 
and  influence  of  their  white  neighbors,  who,  as  it 
seemed,  continually  intruded  upon  their  hunting- 
grounds  and  otherwise  became  more  and  more 
offensive. 

This  sachem  once  had  occasion  to  be  at  Dover, 
—  we  shall  hear  of  him  again  there,  prior  to  his  de- 
parture. He  had  a  fort,  while  here,  at  Wamesit, 
Lowell,  on  a  beautiful  rise  of  ground  near  its  ceme- 
tary,  now  known  and  celebrated  as  "  FORT  HILL." 

NINEGRET. 

This  influential  Sachem  was  a  Neantick,  usually 
friendly  to  the  Narragansetts,  and  was  a  successor 
of  Miantonimo,  of  whom  we  discoursed  in  another 
chapter. 

He  claimed  dominion  over  a  part  of  the  Indians 
on  Long  Island  (but  Ascassasotick  had  the  immedi- 
ate control  of  them),  as  well  as  over  the  old  Narra- 
gansetts. Yet  the  winter  of  1652-53  he  spent  with 
the  Dutch  in  New  York. 

This  caused  suspicions  in  the  minds  of  the  English 


NARRAGANSETTS   DISTRUSTED.  129 

authorities,  they  being  unfriendly  to  the  Dutch  ;  and 
from  this  a  meeting  was  held  in  Boston,  in  April  of 
that  year,  upon  the  suspicion  that  the  Narragansetts 
were  uniting  with  the  Dutch,  being,  as  they  sup- 
posed, bent  on  mischief. 

To  test  the  correctness  of  this  suspicion,  a  com- 
mittee was  sent  to  Ninegret,  with  interrogatories 
propounded  as  follows  to  each  of  the  following  chiefs, 
Mexam,  Pessacus,  and  Ninegret. 

1.  Whether  the  Dutch  had  engaged  them  to  fight  against 
the  English  ? 

2.  Whether  the  Dutch  governor  did  not  indorse  such  con- 
spiracy ? 

3.  Whether  they  had  not  received  arms  and  munitions  of 
war  from  the  Dutch? 

4.  What  other  Indians  are  engaged  in  the  plot  ? 

5.  Whether,   contrary  to  their  engagement,  they  were  re- 
solved to  fight  against  the  'English  ? 

6.  If  they  are  so  resolved,  what  they  think  the  English 
will  do  ? 

7.  Whether  were  their  grounds  against  the  English  ? 

8.  Similar  to  the  first? 

9.  What  were  their  grounds  of  war  against  the  English  ? 

10.  Whether  they  had  not  better  come  or  send  messengers 
to  treat  with  the  English  ? 

11.  Whether  they  had  hired  the  Mohawks  to  help  them  ? 

Each  answered  in  their  order. 

NINEGRET,  addressing  them  in  reply,  says,  — 


130  INDIAN   WARS. 

"  You  are  kindly  welcome  to  us,  and  I  kindly  thank  the 
Sachems  of  Massachusetts  that  they  should  think  of  me  as  one 
of  the  Sachems  worthy  to  be  inquired  of  concerning  this 
matter. 

"  Had  any  of  the  other  Sachems  been  at  the  Dutch  I  should 
have  feared  their  folly  might  have  done  some  hurt,  one  way  or 
other ;  but  they  have  not  been  there.  I  am  the  man.  1  have 
been  there  myself.  I  alone  am  answerable  for  what  T  have 
done.  And  as  I  have  already  declared,  I  do  utterly  deny  and 
protest  that  I  know  of  no  such  plot  as  has  been  appiehended. 
What  is  the  story  of  these  great  rumors  that  I  hear  at  Poca- 
toke,  that  I  should  be  cut  off,  and  that  the  English  had  a 
quarrel  against  me. 

"  I  know  of  no  such  cause  at  all,  for  my  part.  Is  it  because 
I  went  there  to  take  physic  for  my  health  ?  or  what  is  the 
cause  ?  I  found  no  such  entertainment  from  the  Dutch  gover- 
nor, when  I  was  there,  as  to  give  me  any  encouragement  to  stir 
me  up  to  such  a  league  against  the  English,  my  friends. 

"  It  was  winter  time,  and  I  stood  a  great  part  of  a  winter 
day,  knocking  at  the  governor's  door,  and  he  would  neither 
open  it,  nor  suffer  others  to  open  it,  to  let  me  in.  I  was  not 
wont  to  find  such  carriage  from  the  English,  my  friends." 

All  this  was  said  and  done,  and  much  more,  evin- 
cing an  over  zeal ;  yet  such  an  inquisition  was  of  no 
avail  to  the  English.  No  plot  was  discovered. 

Afterwards,  in  1654,  Rhode  Island  communicated 
to  Massachusetts  "that  last  summer  NINEGKET, 
without  any  cause,  had  fallen  upon  the  Long  Island 
Indians,  our  friends  and  tributaries ; "  that  he  had 


SAYINGS   OF   COTTON  MATHEE.  131 

killed  many  of  them,  had  taken  others  prisoners, 
and  would  not  restore  them. 

That  this  summer  he  had  made  two  other  assaults 
upon  them,  "  in  one  whereof  he  killed  a  man  and 
woman  that  lived  upon  the  land  of  the  English,  and 
wiJ.Mn  one  of  their  townships,  and  another  Indian 
that  kept  the  cows  of  the  English,"  that  he  had 
drawn  many  of  the  foreign  Indians  down  from  the 
Connecticut  and  Hudson  Rivers  who  rendezvoused 
upon  Winthrop's  Island,  where  they  killed  some  of 
his  cattle. 

This  war  of  murders  commenced  in  1653,  and  con- 
tinued several  years. 

But  there  were  other  wars  of  murder  going  on 
elsewhere,  and  at  other  various  times.  Some  of  these 
Cotton  Mather,  that  indomitable  leading  New  Eng- 
land divine,  refers  to  in  a  brief  summary,  which  I 
copy  in  this  place,  — 

KEY.  COTTON  MATHER   SAYS : 

"  In  the  year  1634  these  terrible  savages  [Pe- 
quots]  killed  one  Capt.  Stone,  and  Capt.  Norton, 
with  six  men  more,  in  a  bark  sailing  up  Connecticut 
River,  and  sunk  her. 

"  In  the  year  1635  a  bark  sailing  from  Massachusetts 
bay  to  Virginia,  being  by  a  tempest  cast  away  at 


132  INDIAN  WARS. 

Long  Island,  the  same  terrible  salvages  killed  several 
of  the  shipwrecked  Englishmen. 

"  Tn  the  year  1636,  at  Block  Island,  coming  aboard 
a  vessel  to  trade,  they  murdered  the  master  (2  Mag- 
ualia,  p.  480),  and  another  coming  that  way  found 
that  they  had  made  themselves  masters  of  a  bark, 
which  occasioned  the  sending  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  soldiers  thither,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Endicott,  Capt.  Underbill,  and  Capt.  Turner,  by  the 
governor  and  council  of  Boston,  upon  whom,  at  the 
then  landing,  the  Indians  violently  shot,  and  so  ran 
away  where  no  English  could  come  at  them.  Trav- 
elling further  up  the  Pequot  country  the  Pequots 
refused,  upon  a  conference,  to  surrender  the  murder- 
ers harbored  among  them,  which  were  then  de- 
manded ;  whereupon  a  skirmish  ensued,  in  which, 
after  the  death  of  one  of  their  men,  the  Indians  fled, 
but  the  English  destroyed  their  corn  and  their  huts, 
and  so  returned." 

From  this  many  lives  were  lost  from  time  to  time 
in  various  ways,  and  Mather  says,  — 

"  These  parts  were  then  covered  with  nations  of 
barbarous  Indians,  and  infidels,  in  whom  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air  did  work  as  a  spirit ;  nor  could 
it  be  expected  that  nations  of  wretches,  whose  whole 
religion  was  the  most  explicit  sort  of  devil  worship, 
should  not  be  instigated  by  the  Devil  to  engage  in 


SAVAGES   TO  BE  DESTROYED.  133 

some  early  and  bloody  action,  for  the  extinction  of 
a  plantation  so  contrary  to  his  interests  as  that  of 
New  England. 

"  Of  these  nations  there  was  none  more  fierce,  more 
warlike,  more  potent,  or  of  greater  terror  unto  their 
neighbors,  than  that  of  the  PEQUOTS;  but  their 
being  so  much  a  terror  to  their  neighbors,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  Narragansetts  on  the  east  side  of  them, 
and  the  Monhegans  on  the  West,  upon  whom  they 
had  committed  many  barbarous  outrages,  produced 
such  a  division  in  the  kingdom  of  Satan  against 
itself,  as  was  very  serviceable  to  that  of  our  Lord." 

After  repeating  many  other  enormities  perpetrated 
by  the  Pequots,  Mather  continues,  "  Unto  all 
which  there  was  annexed  the  slaughter  of  nine  men, 
with  the  taking  of  two  maids,  by  this  horrid  enemy 
lying  in  ambush  for  them  as  they  went  into  the 
fields  of  Weathers  field.  So  that  the  infant  colonies 
of  New  England,  finding  themselves  necessitated 
unto  the  crushing  of  serpents,  while  they  were  but 
yet  in  cradle,  unanimously  resolved,  that,  with  the 
assistance  of  Heaven,  they  would  root  this  nest  of  ser- 
pents out  of  the  world" 

I  will  close  this  chapter  with  one  or  two  brief 
anecdotes :  — 

"  A  SERIOUS  QUESTION.  —  About  1794  an  officei 


134  INDIAN  WARS. 

presented  a  western  chief  with  a  medal,  on  the  one 
side  of  which  was  represented  G-en.  Washington,  sword 
in  hand,  and  on  the  other  an  Indian  in  the  act  of 
burying  the  hatchet. 

"  The  chief,  carefully  looking  the  medal  over, 
earnestly  inquired,  4  Why  don't  the  president  bury 
his  sword  also  ? '  " 

"  SELF-ESTEEM.  —  A  white  man,  meeting  an  In- 
dian, accosted  him  as  brother.  The  red  man,  with 
much  expression  of  meaning  in  his  countenance, 
inquired  how  they  came  to  be  brothers.  4  By  the  way 
of  Adam  I  suppose,'  said  the  white  man.  The 
Indian  added,  '  Me  thank  him  great  Spirit,  we  no 
nearer  brothers! ' " 

"  COMIC.  —  An  Indian  having  been  found  frozen 
to  death,  an  inquest  of  his  countrymen  was  con- 
vened to  determine  by  what  means  he  came  to  such 
a  death.  Upon  a  full  hearing,  they  returned  the 
following 

"  Verdict. 

'•'•''Death  from  the  freezing  of  a  great  quantity  of 
water  inside  of  him?  which,  as  they  averred,  he  had 
taken  instead  of  rum." 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  TEIBES  AGAINST  THE  DUTCH. 


the  Four  Colonies.  —  Trouble  with  the  Narragansetts  pre- 
•\  ented.  —  The  Dutch  of  New  Netherlands  and  Indians  confed- 
erated against  the  Colonies.  —  It  comes  to  an  End.  —  "War.  —  The 
Narragansetts  and  Nian  ticks  pursue  the  Montaokes.  —  The  Colo- 
nies advance  and  settle  this  Matter.  —  Foreigners  induce  Con- 
flicts. —  War.  —  Dutch  against  the  Tribes.  —  Mohawks  against 
the  Hudson  Tribes.  —  Dutch  Battle  with  the  Tribes.  —One  Hun- 
dred Indians  slain.  —  Fifteen  Hundred  Indians  organize  into 
Eleven  Clans,  and  beset  the  Dutch  on  the  Connecticut  and  Hudson, 

—  Dutch  against  Mayn  and  Mayano's  Tribes.  —  Their  Battle.  — 
Eighty  Indians  slain.  —  Their  Village  consumed.  —  King  Philip. 

—  His    Biography.  —  Intends  War.  —  Individual   Intrusions.  — 
Sassamoii  murdered.  —  Indictment.  —  Trial  of  the  Murderers.  — 
Philip  in  Court.  —Three  Indians  are  hanged  by  the  English.— 
War  is  threatened. 


FTER  the  extermination  of  the  Pequot 
nation,  there  were  now  and  then,  as  usual, 
occasional  eruptions  between  the  various 
tribes  and  the  English,  growing  out  of 
trespasses  committed  through  individual 
recklessness  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other, 
resulting  sometimes  in  terrible  retaliations  in  tres- 
passes, conflagrations,  and  bloodshed.  But  in  the 

135 


136  INDIAN  WARS. 

year  1643,  March  19,  a  union,  offensive  and  defen- 
sive, was  formed  of  the  four  united  colonies  of  New 
England;  which  colonies  were  to  furnish  proper- 
donate  forces,  in  any  event  of  necessity,  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

The  Massachusetts  colony  one  hundred  men;  and 
the  Plymouth,  Hartford,  and  New  Haven,  each, 
forty-five  men. 

In  1645  and  1646  the  Narragansetts,  by  reason  of 
certain  misunderstandings,  threatened  insurrection, 
and  made  some  trouble  for  the  English,  but  were 
soon  brought  to  amicable  quietude  by  the  leaders  of 
the  colonies. 

WAR   ON  LONG  ISLAND. 

In  1653  the  DUTCH  of  New  Netherlands  under- 
took a  confederacy  with  the  INDIANS,  for  the  purpose 
of  cutting  off  and  destroying  all  the  English  settle- 
ments in  New  England ;  but,  by  an  early  declaration 
of  peace  between  England  and  Holland,  that  desper- 
ate, diabolical  scheme  was  defeated  at  the  threshold. 
The  year  1654  inaugurated  a  war,  for  the  most  part 
between  the  tribes  themselves  ;  yet,  more  or  less,  it 
affected  the  peace  and  quietude  of  the  individual 
colonies.  In  this  the  Narragansetts  and  Nianticks 
had  waged  war,  and  were  pursuing  the  Montaoke 
Indians  in  and  about  Long  Island. 


FEUITS  OF  FOREIGN   WARS.  137 

Thereupon  the  united  colonies  fitted  out  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  foot,  and  forty  horsemen,  and, 
advancing  to  the  front,  soon  brought  all  these  con- 
flicting powers  to  a  final  settlement. 

FOREIGNERS   INDUCE  CONFLICTS. 

It  will  be  seen,  as  we  advance  in  these  annals,  that 
the  wars  in  New  England  were,  in  the  main,  the  off- 
shoots of  the  conflicting  powers  of  foreign  countries. 
For  instance,  whenever  France  and  England  de- 
clared war,  that  event  was  but  the  signal  to  the 
French  Jesuits  in  Canada  to  incite  and  encourage 
the  tribes  to  annoy,  to  murder,  and  destroy  the 
English  population  on  this  side  of  the  great  waters. 
So  that  each  and  every  declaration  of  war  in  Europe, 
wherein  England  was  a  party,  covered  her  colonies 
here,  as  with  a  cloud  ;  and,  sad  to  tell,  the  sound  of  a 
war-trump  there  was  but  a  death-knell  to  the  women 
and  children  of  New  England. 

At  length  the  French  with  England  disagree, 
Which  now  portends  what  carnage  hence  shall  be, 
What  man's  estate  must  prove,  —  a  varied  life, 
From  quiet  peace  proceeds  terrific  strife : 
From  plenty  dearth,  from  faith  and  virtue,  sin, 
From  health  disease,  that  wages  war  within. 


138  INDIAN  WABS. 

As  early  as  1642,  a  war  began  to  be  threatened 
between  the  Dutch  settlers  of  New  Amsterdam  and 
their  neighboring  tribes.  Dutch  traders,  having 
induced  an  Indian  to  become  intoxicated,  robbed 
him  of  a  valuable  dress  of  beaver  skins.  In 
retaliation  for  this  robery,  an  Indian  warrior  killed 
two  white  men,  and  then  escaped  to  another  dis- 
tant tribe.  A  demand  was  made  by  the  Dutch  gov- 
ernor (Kieft)  that  the  murderer  might  be  given  up  ; 
which,  being  refused  under  a  false  pretence  that  he 
could  not  be  found,  and  the  governor  forgetting  his 
civilization,  revenged  himself  by  an  act  of  cruelty. 
Then,  at  some  time  that  winter,  two  tribes  on  the 
Hudson  were  surprised  by  the  Mohawks;  seventy 
of  their  warriors  perished,  and  many  prisoners  were 
carried  into  captivity.  The  survivors  of  these 
tribes,  several  hundreds  of  them,  came  for  protection 
to  New  Amsterdam,  there  to  dwell  as  hunters  in 
that  vicinity. 

Keith,  seeing  their  sufferings,  at  first  gave  them 
aid  by  furnishing  them  with  corn ;  but  at  length, 
getting  offended  with  them,  and  remembering  the 
old  conflict,  he  and  his  councillors  -agreeing  to- 
gether, sent  a  band  of  soldiers  against  them,  sur- 
prised them  at  midnight,  and  put  to  death  more 
than  a  hundred  of  them  in  cool  blood. 

This  was  an  act  done  under  the  laws  of  civiliza- 


THE  DUTCH  AND   THE  TRIBES.  139 

tion,  probably  with  high  professions  of  humanity,  if 
not  of  religion;  but  pause  for  a  moment,  and  see 
the  result. 

The  Indians  on  the  Hudson  arose  at  once  to  re- 
venge this  cruel  treachery,  the  tribes  on  Long 
Island  uniting  with  them.  They  formed  a  confed- 
eracy of  eleven  clans,  in  all  more  than  fifteen  hun- 
dred warriors ;  and  fire  and  the  tomahawk  visited 
every  Dutch  settlement  on  Long  Island,  Manhattan, 
and  along  the  Connecticut  and  Hudson  Rivers. 

Desolation  followed  the  Dutch  and  English,  also, 
along  the  Connecticut  coast  as  far  as  East  Stamford. 
The  pretended  prophetess,  Anne  Hutchinson,  who 
had  taken  up  her  residence  here,  although  she 
had  escaped  her  persecutors  in  Massachusetts,  fell 
among  their  other  victims.  Until  the  last  moment,  it 
is  said,  the  Indians  came  to  these  houses  apparently 
friendly ;  and  then,  in  an  unexpected  moment,  the 
hatchet  fell,  and  seventeen  perished  in  the  same  mas- 
sacre. Horses  were  driven  into  the  barns  when 
they  were  on  fire,  that  they  also  might  be  consumed. 

NEW  AMSTERDAM.  —  THE  DUTCH  AGAINST  MAJOR 
MAYANO'S  TRIBES. 

These  tribes  were  as  hostile  as  its  sachem,  Mayano, 
had  been  known  to  be  ;  and  in  February,  1644,  after 
certain  preliminaries  had  transpired,  one  hundred 


140  INDIAN  WARS. 

and  thirty  men  were  raised  and  sent  off  for  Green- 
wich, Conn.,  under  the  command  of  Underbill  and 
Vandyck. 

Underhill  had  fought  in  the  Pequot  war,  and  also 
had  done  service  in  an  expedition  on  Long  Island, 
and  had  but  recently,  at  the  head  of  twenty-five 
men,  surprised  a  small  Indian  village,  "  killed  eight- 
een or  twenty  of  the  inhabitants,  and  had  taken  the 
rest,  an  old  man  with  some  women  and  children, 
prisoners.  These  commanders,  with  one  hundred 
and  twenty  men,  then  embarked,  and  on  the  same 
evening  landed  at  Stamford;  but  a  snow-storm  de- 
tained them  nearly  all  night.  Next  morning  they 
advanced,  marching  all  day :  at  eight  in  the  evening 
they  came  to  two  rivers,  one  of  which  was  two  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  and  three  feet  deep.  There  they 
halted  to  rest  the  men,  and  prepare  for  the  conflict. 
They  again  advanced  at  ten  o'clock ;  the  sky  had 
become  clear,  and  a  full  moon  cast  its  light  upon  the 
snow.  And  now  they  came  in  sight  of  three  long 
rows  of  wigwams,  standing  near  a  rise  of  ground 
which  protected  them  from  the  northeast  gales. 
They  called  it  an  Indian  village.  The  Indian  inhab- 
itants had  obtained  notice,  and  were  on  the  alert. 
But  the  Dutch  surrounded  the  village,  allowing  none 
to  escape.  Gallantly,  however,  the  Indians  charged, 
with  the  intent  of  breaking  the  Dutch  lines;  yet 


DUTCH   WAR  AT  AN  END.  141 

twelve  of  the  foremost  were  taken  prisoners,  and 
the  others  were  driven  back.  A  fire  of  musketry 
was  opened  upon  them  by  the  Dutch.  The  conflict 
was  bloody  and  furious  for  an  hour ;  and  then  the 
Indians  fled  back  to  their  fortified  wigwam,  leaving 
upon  the  cold,  down-trodden  snow  eighty  of  their 
valiant  number  dead  and  dying. 

Then  (as  at  Fort  Mystic  against  the  Pequots), 
they  set  fire  to  their  village,  into  which  they  were 
driven  by  the  sabres  and  musketry  of  the  Dutch, 
and  there  they  perished,  men,  women  and  children. 
Five  hundred  fell  in  that  battle :  eight  or  ten  only 
of  the  tribes  escaped. 

The  Dutch  forces  built  large  fires,  and  camped 
down  for  the  remainder  of  the  night.  Next  morn- 
ing they  returned,  arriving  at  the  English  settlements 
at  Stamford.  And  from  that  day  all  the  Dutch 
chroniclers  daily  discoursed  and  rejoiced  that  "  the 
Lord  had  collected  the  most  of  these  enemies,"  thus  to 
be  slain,  and  that  of  the  Dutch  soldiery  on  their  way 
hone,  "  the  Lord  endued  the  wounded  with  extraordi- 
nary strength."  Thus  ended  the  Dutch  war. 

PHILIP'S  WAE. 

Massasoit,  the  chief  of  thirty  tribes,  had,  as  -we 
have  seen,  two  sons,  Wamsutta  and  Pometacon :  the 
one  (by  the  governor  from  the  English  court  at  Ply- 


142  INDIAN  WARS. 

mouth.)  took  the  name  of  Alexander,  the  othe^  they 
called  Philip. 

Alexander,  soon  after  the  death  of  his  father  in 
1622,  died.  Philip  then  became  sachem  of  the  Wam- 
panoags.  Ho  resided  at  Pakanoket,  now  within  the 
town  of  Bristol,  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  at  a 
place  called  Mount  Hope.  It  is  an  elevation  of  land 
about  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  was  the  an- 
cient dwelling-place  of  his  fathers.  The  view  from 
its  summit,  even  in  this  day  of  change,  is  said  to  be 
beautifully  picturesque,  and  full  of  inspiration. 

Philip,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  in  the  winter  of 
1661-2,  and  of  his  brother,  now  being  king  of  the  tribes, 
entertained  the  idea  that  the  English  intended,  by 
their  proceedings,  to  crush  out  his  own  native  race, 
and  to  take  this  domain  entirely  and  exclusively  to 
themselves.  And  although  he  tried  to  dissemble, 
yet  the  startling  purpose  of  his  heart  to  make  war 
against  them  could  not  long  remain  concealed  nor 
mistaken ;  for,  as  soon  as  his  hostile  intentions  were 
suspected  by  his  sagamores,  then  it  began  to  be  fore- 
shadowed by  murders  and  unprovoked  trespasses. 
Yet  Philip  and  his  sagamores  did  not  themselves 
remain  unprovoked;  and  of  their  provocations  we 
,  will  give  one  or  two  instances.  Squando,  one  of  his 
allied  chiefs,  who  dwelt  on  the  Saco,  had  a  squaw 
with  an  infant  passing  down  the  river  in  a  canoe ; 


CRUELTY  TO  THE  TBIBES.  143 

and  meeting  some  sailors,  who  had  heard  that  a  pap- 
poose  at  any  age  would  swim,  with  a  view  to  try 
that  question,  the  sailors  recklessly  overset  their 
canoe.  The  squaw,  diving  to  the  bottom,  brought 
up  her  drowning  infant,  and  saved  its  life  ;  but  alas  ! 
by  reason  of  this  exposure,  soon  afterwards  it  sick- 
ened and  died. 

Other  provocations  were  constantly  on  foot  in  the 
form  of  trespasses  on  the  Indian  hunting-grounds, 
and  in  various  other  ways,  wherein  their  primeval 
rights  and  titles  were  often,  too  often,  ignored  or 
denied. 

Thus  Squando,  as  well  as  Philip,  was  provoked  ; 
and  the  seeds  of  discontent,  hatred,  and  jealousy, 
falling  in  every  direction,  began  to  swell  and  take 
root. 

The  design  of  the  leading  colonists  to  usurp 
jurisdiction  over  all  this  New-England  domain  had 
then  from  all  their  actions  become  quite  apparent; 
and  trespasses,  arsons,  robberies,  and  murders  pres- 
ently became  common  in  Maine,  Rhode  Island,  and 
elsewhere  all  along  the  English  settlements. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1675,  a  party  of 
Indians  advanced  upon  the  plantations  at  Piscataqua, 
and  there  at  Dover,  where  Durham  now  is,  killed 
two  men,  burned  down  two  dwelling-houses  belong- 
ing to  the  two  Chesleys,  and  carried  away  two  cap- 
tives. 


144  INDIAN  WARS. 

Philip,  to  the  vigilant  colonies,  all  this  time  still 
denied  that  he  intended  to  make  war.  His  deadly 
intent,  however,  soon  leaked  out,  through  Sassamon, 
an  Indian  graduate  from  Harvard,  who  had  been  an 
itinerant  preacher  among  the  Mohegans  in  Connecti- 
cut, and  who  latterly  had  been  acting  as  an  inter- 
preter between  Philip's  native  tribes,  and  the 
English  New-England  settlers.  This  Sassamon,  as 
now  Philip  had  heard,  had  given  his  enemies  to 
understand  that  Philip  was  instigating  an  insurrec- 
tion. 

Soon,  then,  in  the  spring  of  1674,  it  happened  Sas- 
samon was  missing,  —  was  supposed  to  have  been 
murdered.  Search  was  made  for  the  body,  and  it  was 
found  in  Assawomset  Pond  in  Middleborough.  His 
hat  and  gun  were  found  near  the  opening  in  the  ice, 
through  which  he  had  been  dropped,  supposed  to 
have  been  thus  left  in  sight,  to  indicate  a  suicide. 
But  by  marks  upon  the  body,  and  by  the  fact  that  his 
neck  was  broken,  murder  itself  became  apparent. 

The  English  took  this  matter  in  hand :  three  Indi- 
ans, to  wit  Tobias,  and  his  son  Wampapaquam,  and 
Mattashunannamo,  in  the  June  then  next,  were  in- 
dicted. The  indictment  contained  the  following 
count :  — 

"  For  that  being  accused,  that  they  did  with  joint  consent  upon  the 
29  of  January,  anno  1674  (1675  new  style),  att  a  place  called  Assa- 


THE   INDICTMENT.  145 

wamsatf  pond,  wilfully  and  of  sett  purpose,  and  oj 'malice,  forethought^ 
and  by  force  and  armes  murder  John  Sassamon,  another  Indian,  by 
laying  violent  hands  on  him,  and  striking  him,  or  twisting  his  necke 
until  he  was  dead;  and  to  hyde  and  conceale  this  theire  said  murder 
att  the  tyme  and  place  aforesaid,  did  cast  his  dead  body  through  a 
hole  of  the  ice  into  the  said  pond." 

The  twelve  jurymen,  as  ompannelled,  were  Eng- 
lishmen. We  give  thoir  names,  as  follows  :  — 

Win.  Sabine,  Wm.  Crocker,  Edward  Sturgis,  Wm. 
Brookes,  Nath.  Winslow,  John  Wadsworth,  Andrew 
Hinge,  Robert  Vixon,  John  Done,  Jona.  Bangs,  Jona. 
Shaw,  and  Benja.  Higgins, 

A  trial  was  had.  The  record  then  goes  on  to 
state, — 

"Itt  was  judged  very  expedient  by  the  court,  that,  together 
with  this  English  jury  aboue  named,  some  of  the  most  indiffer- 
ent est,  grauest,  and  sage  Indians  should  be  admitted  to  be  with  the 
said  jury,  and  to  healp  to  consult  and  aduice  with,  of,  and  con- 
cerning the  premises :  there  names  are  as  followeth,  viz.,  one 
called  by  an  English  name,  Hope,  and  Maskippague,  Hannoo, 
George  Wampye,  and  Acanootus:  these  fully  concurred  with  the 
jury  in  theire  verdict." 

JOSIAH  WINSLOW  was  then  governor  of  the  Ply- 
mouth colony ;  and  under  his  lead,  as  it  appears, 
these  murderers  were  sought  out,  apprehended,  tried, 
and  hanged.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  great 


146  INDIAN   WARS. 

capital  trial,  which  was  had  here  in  New  England 
by  an  English  court.  As  we  have  seen,  he  appeared 
there,  and  by  various  ways  manifested  his  deter- 
mination to  seek  redress  for  the  many  grievances 
which  had  for  a  long  time  affected  his  race  of  native 
red-men. 

And  from  that  day,  it  appears,  Philip  became 
more  and  more  exasperated,  ever  denying  that  the 
English  had  any  right  to  or  anything  to  do  with 
his  men, — this  domain,  as  he  claimed,  being  entirely 
vithin  his  own  jurisdiction.  Hence  the  war  com- 
menced, and  thenceforth  he  rallied  his  allied  forces 
against  the  English  settlers  through  many  a  murder- 
ous conflict,  —  and  thus  he  gave  battle  from  the  first 
trial  of  his  men  by  an  English  court  up  to  that 
fatal  hour,  August  12,  1676,  when  he  fell  in  his  own 
native  wilderness  at  the  treacherous  gunshot  of  Sea- 
conet :  —  * 

"Indulge,  my  native  land,  indulge  the  tear 

That  steals,  impassioned,  o'er  a  nation's  doom. 
To  me  each  twig  from  Adam's  stock  is  near, 

And  sorrows  fall  upon  an  Indian's  tomb ; 
And  O  ye  chiefs  in  yonder  starry  home, 
Accept  the  humble  tribute  of  this  rhyme." 

*  See  farther,  p.  231. 


PHILIP'S  KINDNESS.  147 

In  1668  Englishmen  had  bought  of  Philip  certain 
lands  which  are  now  included  within  the  lines  of 
Swansey ;  and  in  the  following  year  they  induce 
a  sale  from  him  of  Memenuckquage  and  Towanset 
Neck,  supposed  now  to  be  a  part  of  Swansey. 

Next  ye^r  they  purchased  of  him,  at  the  cost  of 
£20,  five  hundred  acres,  which  now  also  is  a  part  of 
Swansey. 

About  the  same  time  Philip  presented  a  plan  oi 
lands,  which  the  venerable  historian,  S.  G.  Draks, 
copies  in  his  elaborate  history  of  North  American 
Indians,  to  the  English  court  in  Plymouth,  with  a  kind 
proposition,  and  with  words  of  explanation,  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

"  This  may  inform  the  honoured  court,  that  I,  Philip,  am  willing 
to  sell  the  land  within  this  draught;  —  but  the  Indians  that  are  upon 
it  may  live  upon  it  still,  —  but  the  land  that  is  (Waste)  may  be  sould, 
and  Wattachpoo  is  of  the  same  minde. 

"  /  have  sed  downe  all  the  principal  names  of  the  land  wee  are 

willing  should  bee  sould. 

"PHILIP  Phis  mark. 
"From  PAGAN  AXKETT. 

the  24  of  the  12  Mo.  1668." 

In  1669,  for  £10,  Philip  sold  to  John  Cook  an 
island  near  the  town  NoJcatay. 

Also  for  £13  he  sold  a  considerable  tract,  now 
within  the  boundaries  of  Middleborough.  In  1671 
he,  with  Monyocam,  for  £5,  sold  to  Hugh  Cole  of 


148  INDIAN   WAKS 

Swansey,  lands  lying  near  Acashewah  in  Dart- 
mouth. 

In  1672  Philip  sold  to  Wm.  Brenton  and  others  of 
Taunton,  a  tract,  south  of  that  town,  for  £143, 
which  contained  twelve  square  miles. 

Also  to  Constant  Southworth,  another  tract  of  four 
square  miles. 

Thus  we  have  given  the  dates,  &c.,  of  a  few  of  the 
sales  which  were  made  in  this  part  of  New  England, 
by  this  then  most  wealthy  and  renowned  sachem; 
and  the  reader  will  perceive  the  position  in  which  he 
had  stood  in  the  world  anterior  to  the  fatal  day  when 
he  feU. 

The  English  sought  him  to  obtain  his  lands,  and 
as  speedily  to  divest  hira  and  his  race  of  any  and  all 
power  in  the  administration  of  the  government  of 
New  England. 

Their  constant  importunities  had  induced  Philip 
and  his  confederates  to  do  and  concede,  for  the  sake 
of  peace,  many  things  which  otherwise  they,  in  all 
probability,  never  would  have  done. 

Listen  for  a  moment  to  "  ME.  MORTON,"  who 
wrote  anterior  to  this  conflict,  when  Philip's  gar- 
ments, as  yet,  remained  unstained  of  blood.  In  the 
year  1662,  he  observes, — 

"  This  year  upon  occasion  of  some  suspicion  of  some  plot  intended 
by  the  Indians  against  the  English,  Philip,  the  sachem  of  Pokanoket, 


ARTICLES   OF   TREATY.  149 

otherwise  called  Metacom,  made  his  appearance  at  the  court  held  at 
Plymouth,  August  6,  did  earnestly  desire  the  continuance  of  that 
amity  and  friendship  that  hath  formerly  been  between  the  Governor 
of  Plymouth  and  his  deceased  father  and  brother." 

The  court  thereupon  presented  certain  articles  of 
mutual  agreement,  in  writing,  on  which  signatures 
were  given  as  follows :  — 

"  The  mark  of  P  PHILIP  Sachem 

of  Pocanaket 

The  mark  of  ^X]  VUCUMPOWET 
unkell  to  the  abovesaid  Sachem. 

"  Witnesses :  " 

JOHN  SASSAMON 

The  mark  of  M  FRANCIS,  Sachem  of  Nanset 
The  mark  D.I.  of  NIMROD,  alias  PUMPASA 
The  mark  F"of  PUNCKQUANECK 
The  mark  8  of  AQUETEQFESH." 

There  were  misunderstandings  also  in  1671,  be- 
tween Philip  and  the  English,  but  which  at  that 
time  were  adjusted ;  for  which,  in  this,  we  have  no 
space. 

WEETAMOO. 

This  squaw  sachem  resided  at  Pocasset.  Her  hus- 
band Petunaet,  seeking  out  the  distinguished  Capt. 
Church,  crossed  over  to  him  in  a  canoe  from  Philip's 


150  INDIAN   WARS. 

head-quarters  at  Mount  Hope.  It  was  then  that 
Church  obtained  from  him  the  confirmation  that 
Philip  was  making  preparation  for  open  war. 

At  this  time  Weetamoo  was  at  her  camp  on  a  high 
hill  to  the  north  of  Howland's  Ferry,  and  not  far  from 
the  Pocasset  shore.  Her  husband  invited  Church  to 
make  her  a  visit.  Church  found  her  in  a  melan- 
choly mood,  as  she  said  all  her  men  had  left  her, 
being  absent  at  Philip's  war-dance ;  and  she  talked, 
perhaps  too  freely,  of  Philip  and  of  his  intentions. 
Church,  on  his  return  to  Plymouth,  reported  this 
squaw  sachem  as  being  secured  to  the  English  ;  but 
in  the  mean  time,  Philip  having  reclaimed  her,  she 
afterwards  advanced  to  the  conflict  with  him,  and 
finally  perished,  fighting  heroically  against  the  Eng- 
lish in  behalf  of  her  own  falling  race. 

"  What  fiend  could  then  disturb  the  peaceful  dead  ? 

Remembrance  pointing  to  what  last  she  said. 
Prepare  the  hollow  tomb  and  place  me  low, 

My  trusty  bow  and  arrow  by  my  side ; 
For  long  the  journey  is  that  I  must  go 

Without  a  partner,  and  without  a  guide." 


CHAPTER  X. 


LAWS   OP   THE  NATIVE  NATIONS. 

Impending  Dangers.  —  Insurrections.  —  Philip  is  in  Arms. — The 
Colonies,  troubled,  are  moving.  —  The  Clergy  do  not  seek  to 
prevent  War.  —  Warriors  send  their  Women  and  Children 
away. — Depredations  at  Swansey.  —  Slaughter  there. — Ply- 
mouth Governor  applies  to  the  Massachusetts  Colony.  —  They 
try  to  dissuade  Philip.  —  Messengers  dare  not  approach  him.  — 
Forces  sent  to  Swansey. —Hammond  is  killed. — Five  or  Six 
Indians  killed.  —  Philip's  Councillor  slain.  —  July  4,  Capts.  Mosely 
and  Pago  obtain  a  Treaty  with  the  Narragansetts.  —  The  Articles  as 
signed.— War  begins.  —  Capts.  Church  and  Fuller  with  Forces 
move  to  Pocasset.  —  They  form  Two  Companies. — Fuller  goes 
Seaward.  —  Finds  too  many  Indians.  —  Indians  pursue  Church 
Seaward. —  He  kills  Fifteen.  —  Fuller  and  Church  return  to 
llhode  Island.  —  Taunton  secures  her  Families  into  Eight  Garri- 
sons.—  English  advance  to  the  Swamp. — Five  of  them  killed 
from  an  Ambush. — Their  Hiindred  Wigwams  deserted. —Five 
or  Six  Farmers  killed  in  Mendon.  —  Force  sent  there. — De- 
serted. —  Burned  down.  —  Henchman  tries  to  starve  out  Philip.  — 
Philip  with  his  Warriors  escapes  to  the  Nipmuck  Country.  — 
liehoboth  Men. —  Mohegans  and  Henchman  Pursue  him. — The 
two  former  Forces  kill  Thirty  of  Philip's  Men.  —  He  is  not 
reached.  —  Insurrections  in  Connecticut.  —  Two  Englishmen 
slain  at  Brook-eld. — Mosely  is  sent,  to  Penacook. — Woualan- 
cet  Neutral.  —  Ivatehinson  and  Wheeler  are  to  obtain  a  Treaty. 
— Hutchinson  and  Seven  others  are  murdered  by  Nipniucks. 


;N  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  noticed 
some  of  the  foreboding  incidents  which  in- 
augurated that  general  uprising  of  the 
tribes  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  English 
planters  on  the  other,  in  that  terrible 

151 


152  INDIAN   WARS. 

struggle  of  barbarians  against  a  professed  civilization, 
each  contending  with  bloody  cruelties,  for  a  national 
existence. 

At  first  the  laws  of  the  tribes  for  a  long  period 
had  been  ignored ;  and  the  English  statutes  had  been 
enforced  against  three  of  Philip's  men  for  the  mur- 
der of  one  of  Ms  own  race :  and  from  this  and  other 
real  or  supposed  encroachments,  long  and  constantly 
continued,  Philip  and  his  sagamores  could  but  see  in 
prospect  the  fearful  fate  of  their  race.  In  truth,  an 
unmistakable,  ominous  hand  had  for  a  long  time 
been  "  writing  upon  the  wall." 

And  now  the  public  mind  had  begun  to  be  agitated 
with  anxious  fears  and  forebodings.  The  colonial 
leaders  were  constantly  sending  from  Boston  emissa- 
ries to  the  tribes  in  Connecticut,  and  to  the  east- 
ward on  the  Saco  and  Kennebeck,  disarming  them, 
and  securing  pledges  of  good  faith,  and  of  course 
thereby  making  at  every  step  hostility  still  the  more 
acrimonious,  yet  obtaining  promises  often  obtained 
but  almost  as  often  violated.  Everywhere  among 
the  planters,  «s  well  as  among  the  natives,  '•'•loud 
rumor"  spoke;  and  it  spoke  of  blood,  carnage,  and 
despair. 

The  New-England  clergy,  for  the  most  part,  led  by 
such  men  as  that  indomitable  Cotton  Mather,  laid 
aside  their  prayer-book,:,  and  with  carnal  weapons 


INDIANS    SURRENDER   THEIR   FIRE-ARMS.     153 

went  in  for  a  total  extermination  of  the  native 
nations  of  New  England. 

The  tribes  could  not  have  been  unmindful  of  tiie 
destruction  of  the  Pequot  nation  and  of  the  murder 
of  the  valiant  Miantonimo  the  Englishman's  friend, 
slain  in  cool  blood  at  their  own  hands.  They  well 
knew  that  the  leaders  in  such  barbarisms  sought  but 
little  else  than  destruction  of  the  tribes  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  political  advantages  and  a  national 
supremacy. 

To  the  end  of  disarming  the  New-England  tribes, 
hostile  or  otherwise,  commissioners,  having  been 
appointed,  were  constantly  on  the  alert  in  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  and  Maine,  or  wherever  in 
New  England  they  might  be  found. 

Of  the  Narragansetts  it  was  reported  "  that  the 
elder  people  were  inclined  to  peace,  and  that  the  old 
sachems  expressed  a  desire  that  all  controversy 
might  be  brought  to  an  end ;  but  the  commissioners 
volunteer  an  opinion  that  their  intent  is  as  treacher- 
ous as  ever,  and  that  they  intend  in  the  spring  to 
invade  the  plantations  all  at  once,  and  that  their 
pretences  for  peace  are  all  a  mere  sham." 

At  an  early  day  Uncas,  the  old  opponent  of  Mian- 
tonimo, and  the  representative  of  the  Mohegan  tribes 
of  Connecticut,  was  ordered  to  appear  at  Boston,  and 
by  surrendering  his  fire-arms  give  additional  assur- 


154  INDIAN    WARS. 

ance  of  his  good  faith  towards  the  Colonies.  There- 
upon Oweneco  the  eldest  son  of  Uncas,  attended  by 
fifty  warriors,  made  his  appearance  at  headquarters, 
and  returned  with  them  their  fire-arms.  The  two 
younger  sachems  were  held  to  remain  in  Cambridge 
as  hostages,  while  Oweneco  and  his  warriors  marched 
with  the  English  forces  in  pursuit  of  Philip. 

The  Pequot  race,  who  had  been  nearly  annihilated 
in  1637,  had  accumulated,  from  scattered  fragments, 
and  from  natural  health  and  increase,  to  another 
distinct  tribe,  and  (in  this  Philip's  war)  together  with 
the  Mohegans  under  Oweneco,  continued  true,  and 
sustained  the  English  throughout  this  conflict,  as  in 
the  sequel  it  will  appear.  Other  Connecticut  tribes 
remained  neutral,  except  the  Poduncks  of  East 
Windsor  and  East  Hartford,  of  nearly  two  hundred, 
and  the  Nipmucks  of  Windham  County  of  about 
sixty  warriors,  who  turned  away,  and  sooner  or  later 
went  into  the  fight  for  Philip. 

It  appears  that  in  June,  1675,  during  all  the  time 
the  murderers  were  on  trial,  whom  we  have  noted  in 
the  preceding  chapter,  Philip  had  a  posse  of  armed 
warriors  on  the  march  up  and  down  near  the  court- 
house at  Plymouth,  and  ever  afterwards  kept  Lis 
men  about  him  in  arms,  and  still  continued  to  enlist 
recruits  from  distant  tribes  then  and  afterwards. 

The  English  at  Plymouth,  knowing  this,  ordered  a 


PHILIP'S  WAR  BEGINS.  155 

military  watch  in  all  the  towns,  hoping  that  Philip, 
not  finding  himself  arrested  by  the  court,  might 
become  appeased,  and  that  this  war-cloud  might 
vanish  away. 

But  the  facts  proved  otherwise.  His  strength 
daily  increased  \>y  the  flocking  of  the  tribes  to  him  ; 
and  his  women  and  children  were  continually  being 
sent  to  the  care  of  the  Narragansetts. 

Then  the  English  at  Swansey,  a  town  adjoining 
Philip's  country,  were  daily  menaced  by  the  doings 
of  Philip,  intent  on  Avar  and  bloodshed ;  and  the 
savages,  emboldened,  began  to  kill  their  cattle  and 
pillage  their  houses.  At  length  an  Englishman  shot 
at  one  of  these  intruders,  wounded,  but  did  not  kill 
him ;  upon  which  the  Indiana  began  to  kill  the 
English  wherever  they  could  find  them ;  so  that  on  the 
24th  of  June,  1675,  the  alarm  of  war  was  sounded 
throughout  the  Plymouth  colony,  eight  or  nine  of 
the  English  having  been  slain  in  and  about  Swansey, 
on  the  same  day.  They  killed  three  of  these  men 
in  the  highway,  and  six  men  in  and  about  a  dwell- 
ing-house in  another  part  of  the  town. 

Upon  that,  on  the  14th  July,  1675,  an  amicable 
letter  was  sent  to  Philip  by  a  magistrate  from  the 
Plymouth  Colony,  requesting  him  to  desist ;  but  no 
answer  was  returned. 

The  governor  and  council  of  Plymouth  sent  what 


156  INDIAN   WARS. 

forces  they  had  to  secure  the  towns  thereabouts,  de- 
spatched messengers  to  the  governor  and  council  of 
Massachusetts,  and  solicited  assistance,  and  also  sent 
two  messengers  to  Philip  to  ascertain  whether  he 
could  or  could  not  be  diverted  from  his  bloody  pur- 
pose by  mediation  the  same  as  an  arrangement 
had  been  made  previously  in  1671.  But  the  messen- 
gers, upon  seeing  the  dead  which  lay  in  the  way,  did 
not  dare  approach  him,  and,  discouraged,  returned 
speedily  to  Boston. 

Massachusetts  forces  were  immediately  fitted  out ; 
and  others  were  ordered  to  follow. 

First,  a  foot  company  under  Capt.  Daniel  Hench- 
man, and  a  troop  of  horse  under  Capt.  Prentice, 
bound  from  Boston  to  Mount  Hope. 

On  the  20th  these  companies  advanced  to  Swansey, 
and  were  quartered  at  Miles's  house,  minister  of 
that  town,  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  bridge 
that  led  into  Philip's  lands;  arrived  a  little  before 
nightfall,  passed  over  the  bridge,  into  the  enemy's 
territories,  where  they  found  eight  or  ten  Indians, 
who  fired  upon  them  from  the  bushes,  killing  Ham- 
mond and  wounding  Belcher,  his  horse  also  being 
killed.  The  eighty-seven  English  fired  upon  the 
Indians,  killing  five  or  six  of  them  as  they  escaped 
into  the  swamps. 

They  were  thus  driven  from  Mount  Hope ;  and  all 


TREATY    WITH   NAERAGANSETTS.  Itf 

escaped  into  the  wilderness  and  were  nowhere  to  bo 
found. 

Lieut.  Oaks  with  another  force,  pursuing  the 
savages,  slew  four  or  five  others :  among  them  was 
Thebe,  a  sachem  of  Mount  Hope ;  another  of  the 
slain  was  a  chief  counsellor  of  Philip  ;  the  lieutenant 
lost  one  of  his  number,  a  soldier  by  the  name  of 
John  Druce.  Capts.  Mosely  and  Page  were  there 
with  their  dragoons ;  and  while  they  thus  pursued 
Philip  in  various  directions  they  received  orders 
from  Boston,  July  4,  1675,  to  pass  into  Narragansett, 
and  make  a  treaty  with  the  sachems  there.  They 
marched  there,  remained  four  days,  and  made  their 
treaty.  Hostages  were  given  by  the  Narragansetts 
to  enforce  the  performance  of  their  treaty. 

TREATY. 

Articles,  covenants,  and  agreements  had,  made,  and  concluded 
by  and  between  Major  Thomas  Savage,  Capt.  Edward  Hutchin- 
son,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Dudley,  in  behalf  of  the  government  of 
the  Massachusetts  Colony,  and  Major  Warto,  Winthrop,  and 
Richard  Smith,  on  behalf  of  Connecticut  Colony,  the  one 
party;  and  Agamand,  Wampsh  alias  Corman,  Taiteon, 
Tawageson,  councillors  and  attorneys  to  Canonicus,  Ninigret, 
Matababug,  old  Quen  Quainpen,  Quananshet,  and  Pomham, 
the  six  present  sachems  of  the  whole  Narragansett  Country, 
on  the  other  party :  referring  to  several  differences  and  troubles 
lately  risen  between  them,  and  for  a  final  conclusion  of  settled 


158  INDIAN   WARS. 

peace  and  amity  between  the  said  sachems,  their  heirs  and 
successors  forever,  and  the  governor  of  the  said  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut,  and  their  successors  in  said  governments  for- 


I.  That  all  and  every  of  the  said  sachems  shall  from  timu 
to  time  carefully  seize,  and,  living  or  dead,  deliver  unto  one  or 
other  of  the  above-said  governments  all  and  every  of  Sachem 
Philip's   subjects   whatsoever  that   shall   come    or  be    found 
within  the  precinct  of  any  other  lands  ;  and  that  with  greatest 
diligence  and  faithfulness. 

II.  That  they  shall  with  their  utmost  ability  use  all  acts  of 
hostility  against  the  said  Philip  and  his  subjects,  entering  his 
lands,  or  any  other  lands  of  the  English  to  kill  and  destroy  the 
said  enemy,  until  a  cessation  from  war  with  the  said  enemy  be 
concluded  by  both  the  above-said  Colonies. 

lit.  That  the  said  sachems,  by  themselves  and  their  agents, 
shall  carefully  search  out  and  deliver  all  stolen  goods  whatso- 
ever taken  by  any  of  their  subjects  from  any  of  the  English, 
whether  formerly  or  lately,  and  shall  make  full  satisfaction  for 
all  wrongs  or  injuries  done  to  the  estate  of  any  of  the  subjects 
of  the  several  colonies,  according  to  the  judgment  of  indifferent 
men,  in  case  of  dissatisfaction  between  the  offenders  and  the 
offended  parties,  or  deliver  the  offenders. 

IV.  That  all  preparations  for  war  or  acts  of  hostility  against 
any  of  the  English  subjects  shall  forever  for  the  future  cease  ; 
together  with  all  manner  of  thefts,  pilf erings,  killing  of  cattle, 
or  any  manner  of  breach  of  peace  whatsoever  shall  with  utmost 
care  be  prevented;  and  instead  thereof  their  strength  to  be 
used  as  a  guard  round  about  the  Narragansett  Country  for  the 
English  inhabitants'  safety  and  security. 


PREMIUMS   FOR   PHILIP.  159 

"V.  In  token  of  the  above-said  sachems'  reality  in  this  treaty 
and  conclusion,  and  for  the  security  of  the  several  English 
governments  and  subjects,  they  do  freely  deliver  unto  the  above- 
said  gentlemen,  in  behalf  of  the  above-said  colonies,  John 
Wabequab,  Weothint,  Pewkes,  Wanew,  four  of  their  near  kinsmen 
and  choice  friends,  to  be  and  remain  as  hostages  in  several 
places  of  the  English  jurisdictions  at  the  appointment  of  the 
honorable  governors  of  the  above-said  colonies,  there  to  be 
civilly  treated,  not  as  prisoners,  but  otherwise  at  their  honors' 
discretion,  until  the  above-said  articles  are  fully  accomplished 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  several  governments ;  the  departure 
of  any  of  them  in  the  mean  time  to  be  accounted  breach  of 
the  peace  and  of  these  present  articles. 

VI.  The  said  gentlemen,  in  behalf  of  the  governments  to 
which  they  do  belong,  do  engage  to  every  the  said  sachems  and 
their  subjects,  that,  if  they  or  any  of  them  shall  seize  and 
bring  into  either  of  the  above-said  English  governments,  or  to 
Mr.  Smith,  inhabitant  of  Narragansett,  Philip  Sachem  alive,  he 
or  they  so  delivering  shall  receive  for  their  pains  forty  truck- 
ing cloth  coats :  in  case  they  bring  his  head,  they  shall  have 
twenty  like  good  coats  paid  them.     For  every  living  subject  of 
said  Philip's  so  delivered,  the  deliverer  shall  receive  two  coats, 
and  for  every  head  two  coats,  and  for  every  head  one  coat  as  a 
gratuity  for  their  service,  herein  making  it  appear  to  satisi'o.c- 
tion  that  the  heads  or  persons  are  belonging  to  the  enemy,  and 
that  they  are  of  their  seizure. 

VII.  The  said  sachems  do  renew  and  confirm  unto  the  English 
inhabitants  or  others  all  former  grants,  sales,  bargains,  or  con- 
veyances of  lands,  meadows,  timber,  grass,  stones,  or  whatever 
else  the  English  have  heretofore  bought  or  quietly  possessed  and 
enjoyed,  to  be  unto  them  and  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever : 


160  INDIAN    WARS. 

as  also  all  former  articles  made  with  tlie  confederate   Colo- 
nies. 

Lastly.  The  said  councillors  and  attorneys  do  premeditately, 
seriously,  and  upon  good  advice,  covenant,  conclude,  and  agree 
all  above  said  solemnly,  and  call  God  to  witness  they  are  and 
shall  remain  true  friends  to  the  English  governments,  and  per- 
form the  above-said  articles  punctually,  using  their  utmost  en- 
deavor, care,  and  faithfulness  therein. 

In  witness  whereof  they  have  set  their  hands  and 


PETAQUAMSCOT,  July  15,  1675. 

Signed,  sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  us 
underwritten,  being  carefully  interpreted  to  the  said 
Indians  before  sealing. 

Daniel  Henchman,  TAWAGASON,  his  C.  mark. 

Thomas  Prentice,  TAYTSOX,        his  D.  mark. 

Nicholas  Paige,  AGAMOUG,      hu1  T.  mark. 

Joseph  Stanton,  luterp. 

Henry  Hawlaws,  WAMPSH    "| 

Pecos  Burkow,  alias      t    his  X  mark. 

Job  NefE,  CORMAN,  J 

The  four  colonies,  as  appears,  were  alarmed  almost 
to  desperation  ;  and,  while  this  treaty  with  the  Narra- 
gansetts  was  progressing,  the  English  everywhere 
else  were  advancing  to  the  various  posts  of  danger, 
many  of  them  commissioned  to  make  treaties  or 
alliances  with  the  afflicted,  troublesome  tribes,  all 


CHUECH   AND   PULLER   AT   POCASSET.          161 

now  more  or  less  on  the  alert  at  the  sound  of  the 
soul-trying,  terrific  war-whoop,  and  all  charged  to 
ferret  out  and  destroy  Philip  and  his  bloody  warriors 
then  ambushed  with  a  strong  force  in  some  New- 
England  swamp  (no  Englishman  knew  where). 
Accordingly,  Capts.  Church  and  Fuller  were  de- 
spatched to  Pocasset  with  a  force  of  fifty  soldiers, 
advanced,  seeking  the  enemy,"  and  trying  to  make 
peace  or  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Pocassets.  That  day 
they  traversed  Pocasset  Neck ;  and  they  watched  all 
that  night  in  a  deserted  house  which  they  found 
there,  but,  sad  to  relate,  they  heard  no  tidings  of 
Indians. 

They  then  divided  their  company.  Fuller  took 
towards  the  sea,  had  a  skirmish  wherein  one  of  his 
men  was  wounded;  but,  ascertaining  that  there 
were  more  Indians  in  that  neighborhood  than  would 
answer  his  purpose  to  find,  they  turned  back,  and  a, 
sloop  of  war  took  them  all  to  Rhode  Island  in  entire 
safety. 

Capt.  Church  with  his  force  marched  farther  into 
the  neck  of  Pocasset,  and,  coming  near  a  field,  dis- 
covered two  Indians  among  the  standing  peas.  Hear- 
ing them  shout,  a  tribe  in  great  numbers  sprang  up, 
and  chased  him  and  his  fifteen  attendants  far  away 
to  the  seaside  ;  and  there  they  too,  without  loss  of 
life,  found  a  sloop, "  The  Golden  Gate,"  that  took  them 


162  INDIAN  WAES. 

to  Rhode  Island  all  in  safety.  It  is  recorded,  that,  on 
this  retreat  to  the  sea-shore,  this  gallant  captain  used 
up  all  of  his  ammunition,  and  killed  at  least  fifteen 
from  the  tribes  that  pursued  him. 

Capt.  Church  soon  returned  to  Massachusetts, 
took  more  soldiers,  and  advanced  to  Pocasset  again, 
and  there  again,  in  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy,  killed 
fourteen  or  fifteen  of  them  ;  and  at  this  time  he  ascer- 
tained that  Philip  had  betaken  himself  and  tribes 
to  the  swamps  not  far  away. 

Capt.  Cudworth  in  the  mean  time  operated  with 
his  forces  in  killing  Indians  nearer  at  home. 

Thus  did  the  Plymouth  Colony  busy  itself  during 
the  negotiations  with  the  Narragansetts.  Then,  on 
Friday,  July  15,  the  same  day  when  the  Plymouth 
treaty  was  completed,  the  Massachusetts  forces 
marched  to  Rehoboth;  but,  hearing  of  no  Indians 
nearer  than  the  great  swamp  of  Pocasset,  eighteen 
miles  from  Taunton,  they  the  next  day  advanced 
twelve  miles  to  Metapoiset,  midway  between  Taun- 
ton Bay  and  Mount  Hope  :  thence,  July  17,  after  a 
march  of  twenty  miles,  they  arrived  at  Taunton, 
where  the  people  generally  had  assembled  and  had 
secured  their  families  within  eight  garrisons. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  July  our  forces  again  ad- 
vanced eighteen  miles  to  the  swamp,  and,  being 
joined  by  Plymouth  soldiers,  entered  the  thicket,  and 


PHILIP   ESCAPES.  163 

were  fired  upon  by  the  Indians  in  ambush.  Five 
of  the  foremost  Englishmen  were  killed ;  seven 
were  wounded  :  and  then  again  there  were  no  Indians 
to  be  seen. 

Three  hundred  wigwams,  made  there  of  green 
bark,  so  that  they  would  not  burn,  were  entirely  de- 
serted. A  God-forsaken,  decrepit  old  Indian  was 
found  in  and  about  them.  He  confessed  that  Philip 
had  lately  lodged  there,  but  said  Philip  and  his 
tribes  were  in  parts  unknown  to  him. 

For  some  time  they  travelled  about,  searching  the 
swamp ;  but  no  further  trace  was  found  of  Philip. 

Night  now  coming  on,  and  a  retreat  being  sounded, 
they  buried  their  dead ;  and  then  most  of  the 
Massachusetts  were  drawn  off,  leaving  Capt.  Hench- 
man with  one  hundred  men,  together  with  the  Ply- 
mouth forces,  to  pursue  Philip  and  his  hosts  from 
this  locality. 

Under  this  arrangement  Major  Savage,  Capt.  Page^ 
anJi  Capt.  Mosely,  with  their  companies,  returned, 
and  reported  to  their  authorities  in  Boston. 

And  then  Capt.  Prentice  with  his  troop  of 
horse  was  ordered  towards  Mendon,  where  some 
of  Philip's  Indians  had  entered  a  field  and  had 
killed  five  or  six  men  at  their  labor,  and  soon  as 
done  had  taken  llight  to  the  wilderness.  He  ad- 
vanced ;  but  that  little  village  of  Mendon  was  soon 


164  INDIAN  WARS. 

found  to  have  been  entirely  deserted ;  and  its  hitherto 
peaceful  cots  had  now  all  been  turned  to  asheb. 
"  Benjamin  was  not,  and  Simeon  was  not ;  "  and 
"  the  bowl  "  had  been  "  broken  at  the  fountain." 

Captain  Henchman,  who  had  been  left  with  strong 
forces  at  Pocasset,  thence  to  pursue  Philip,  not  de- 
siring to  beard  the  beast  in  his  den,  knowing  the 
danger  and  folly  of  entering  the  dismal  woods  deep 
in  its  miry  bogs,  blindfolded  by  the  boughs  of  trees, 
to  be  ambushed  and  shot  down  by  unseen  tribes, 
whose  foot-paths  in  flight  were  plain  and  smooth  to 
the  savages,  but  dark  and  deadly  to  an  Englishman, 
resolved  to  starve  them  out.  Accordingly  he  built 
there  a  fort,  as  it  were,  to  beleaguer  the  enemy,  and 
prevent  his  escape  from  the  swamp,  where  he  was 
then  kiiovv'n  or  supposed  to  be,  and  where,  as  he 
hoped,  he  would  hold  him  fast  within  his  surround- 
ings. 

Philip,  of  course  not  being  ignorant  of  what  was 
going  on  without,  and  perceiving  himself  doomed  if 
he  remained,  late  in  July  started  with  one  or  two 
hundred  of  his  best  fighting  men,  advancing  towards 
an  arm  of  the  sea  that  bordered  there,  and,  taking 
the  advantage  of  a  low  tide,  built  rafts  of  timber  in 
the  night-time,  and  ere  the  day  broke  with  all  his 
company  escaped  in  the  wilderness  away  into  the 
country  of  the  Niprnucks,  while  yet  his  enemies 


PHILIP   SEEKS   THE   NIPMUCKS.  165 

still  remained  in  camp  on  an  opposite  side  of  the 
great  swamp. 

Philip  left  behind  him  a  hundred  or  more  of  Lis 
women  and  children,  whom  he  could  but  leave  to  the 
mercy  of  the  English,  and  to  the  God  of  his  fathers. 

His  way  into  the  Nipmuck  territory  was  beset  with 
many  an  ambuscade  of  English  forces,  then  vigilant, 
seeking  his  blood.  He  was  first  discovered  near 
Rehoboth,  where  its  inhabitants  with  a  party  of 
Mohegans  (then  on  their  way  from  their  visit  to 
Boston)  started  in  considerable  force  to  apprise 
Henchman  of  Philip's  flight ;  but,  meeting  an  English 
force  in  direct  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  they  fell  into 
the  same  ranks,  and  advanced.  The  news  of  all 
this  in  the  mean  time  had  reached  Henchman,  who, 
as  soon  as  he  could  cross  over  with  six  files  of  men 
rowing  hard  the  most  of  a  day,  arrived  at  Provi- 
dence, and  thence  also  advanced  in  pursuit  of  Philip 
of  Pokanoket. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Mohegans,  with  the  men  of 
Rehoboth,  had  fallen  at  night  upon  the  enemy's 
trail,  overtook  him,  killed  about  thirty  of  them,  and 
took  a  considerable  of  plunder  without  much  IOSE  . 

The  men  of  Rehoboth  that  night,  having  left 
their  horses  three  miles  in  the  rear,  returned  the 
next  morning;  and  the  Mohegans  wheeled  in,  and 
again  agreed  to  advance  forward  with  Henchman,  in 


166  INDIAN  WARS. 

pursuit  of  the  king  and  his  tribes,  towards  Nep- 
satchet,  then  thirty  miles  distant.  To  that  end 
Henchman  supplied  provisions  to  the  Mohegans  ;  and 
to  the  same  end  Capt.  Edmunds  and  Lieut.  Brown 
of  Providence  had  supplied  Henchman. 

But  the  pursuit,  as  appears,  from  no  good  reason, 
was  not  then  followed  for  any  great  distance  or  ex- 
tent. Henchman  followed  him.  until  his  provisions 
failed :  then  he  and  his  Englishmen,  as  well  as  the 
Mohegans,  severally  faced  about  and  returned  home. 

Philip  escaped  away  to  the  westward,  kindling 
and  fanning  the  flames  of  war  in  all  the  western 
plantations  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  wherever 
he  went:  so  that  both  westward  and  eastward  Philip's 
war  was  now  beginning  to  wax  warm,  and  in  tlio 
fury  of  its  flame  had  begun  to  rage  within  the  two 
colonies  of  Connecticut. 

While  these  events  were  progressing  within  the 
Plymouth  Colony,  the  commissioners  of  the  other 
three  Colonies  were  constantly  consulting,  advising, 
inventing,  and  forwarding  means  and  measures  to 
prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  the  hateful  horrors  of  an 
impending  barbarous,  savage  war. 

By  the  treaty  which  we  have  copied,  the  Narra- 
gansetts  were  kept  from  waging  war  in  conjunction 
with  the  tribes  of  Philip ;  and  thus  the  inland  plan- 
tations of  the  English,  for  the  present  at  least,  had 
been  saved. 


MOSELY  ADVANCES   TO  PENACOOK.  1^7 

Henchman  returned  to  Boston;  and  after  awhile 
his  force  was  disbanded. 

Capt.  Mosely  then,  with  his  force,  was  ordered 
from  there  to  Quaboag  (Brookfield),  with  other  cap- 
tains, to  protect  its  inhabitants,  and  "to  seek  after 
the  enemy  in  those  woods"  None  for  a  long  time 
being  found  there,  they  came  down  to  Lancaster, 
where  on  Sunday,  the  22d  of  August,  a  man,  Ms 
wife,  and  two  children  had  been  slain,  and  where  a 
young  man,  while  keeping  his  father's  sheep,  had 
been  shot  at  by  an  Indian  at  Marlborough. 

There  was  an  Indian  fort  here.  Mosely  demanded 
and  took  their  guns.  Suspecting  evil  in  eleven  of 
them,  he  took  and  sent  them  to  Boston,  as  if  they 
had  had  something  to  do  in  the  slaughter  of  the 
four  men  and  the  shooting  at  the  young  shepherd. 
But  these  prisoners  when  tried  were  all  acquitted. 

Presently  also  Capt.  Mosely,  with  a  company  of 
soldiers,  was  sent  from  Boston  up  the  Morrimack 
River  to  Penacook  (Concord,  N.  H.),  but  found  no 
Indians.  Wonalancet,  the  sachem  of  that  valley, 
whose  residence  was  at  Wamesit  (Lowell),  together 
with  Ijiis  tribes,  having  no  heart  for  bloodshed  for 
either  of  the  belligerent  nations,  turning  aside  to 
remain  neutral,  had  wandered  back  into  the  dark, 
dense  forest. 

Thence  Mosely  was  sent  westward  to  Hadley,  to 


168  INDIAN   WARS. 

put  a  stop,  if  possible,  to  depredations  and  murders 
which  Philip's  men  were  making  in  that  direction 
both  by  fire  and  by  sword. 

The  authorities  at  Boston  at  this  time  stood 
greatly  in  fear  of  the  Nipmuck  nation,  located  as 
they  were  between  the  great  Merrimack  and  Connecti- 
cut Rivers,  and  sent  up  there  a  committee  to  make 
inquiries,  who  on  their  return  reported  "  that  they 
found  the  said  Indians  wavering,  —  the  younj  men  very 
surly  and  insolent,  the  elder  ones  showing  some  incli- 
nation to  maintain  the  wonted  peace." 

On  July  28,  1675,  Capt.  Wheeler  was  sent  from 
Boston  with  a  company  of  twenty  horse,  to  assist 
Capt.  Hutchinson  at  Quaboag  (Brookfield,  Mass.), 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining,  if  possible,  a  treaty  of 
peace.  They  arrived  there,  and  obtained  the  promise 
of  an  amicable  arrangement.  The  day  (Aug.  2) 
was  set  for  the  negotiation  to  be  signed  or  completed : 
whereupon,  on  that  day  some  of  the  principal  men 
of  the  town,  unarmed,  rode  along  with  said  Hutch- 
inson and  Wheeler  to  the  place  appointed;  but, 
finding  no  Indians  had  arrived,  they,  suspecting 
nothing,  passed  over  to  the  chief  town  of  the  tribes, 
some -three  or  four  miles  beyond,  where  they  were 
assailed  from  an  ambush,  eight  of  them  being  shot 
down.  Capt.  Hutchinson  was  among  the  slain. 

Such,  indeed,  was  the  result  of  trying  to  obtain  a 
treaty  of  peace  in  the  land  of  the  Nipmucks. 


CHAPTER  XL 


BATTLE  OF  BLOODY  BROOK. 

A.  Massacre.  —  Deerfield  is  surprised  and  sacked.  —  Sam  and  Ne- 
tramp  executed.  —  Capts.  Beers  and  Lothrop.  —  Hostile  Indians 
westward.  — Neutral  Indians  suspected,  and  fly.  —  Twenty-six  of 
them  slain.  —  Beers  and  Twenty  Men  are  slain.  —  Garrisons.  — 
Lothrop  and  Essex  Men  slain.  —  Treat  arrives,  joins  Mosely  to 
bury  the  Dead.  —  Story  of  a  Wounded  Soldier.  — Mosely's  Skirm- 
ish.—  He  drives  them  to  their  Swamps. —  Cooper  at  Springfield. 
— Is  assailed  by  Savages. — Treat  comes  out  from  Westfield. — 
Thirty-two  Houses  destroyed.  —  Capts.  Mosely,  Poole,  and  Apple- 
ton  are  assailed.  —  Seven  of  their  Men  killed.  —  Parties  in  the 
"Woods.  —  They  wander  towards  the  Narragansetts.  —  Hasse- 
menesit  visited  by  Henchman. — Indians  vanish.  —  Found  Wig- 
wains.  —  Heard  of  Indians  farther  away,  — Twenty-two  Men  on 
Horses. — Their  Commander  is  killed. — Towns  are  fortified. — 
Scouts  of  Indians  all  about.  —  Tribes  vanish  towards  Dutch 
Eiver,  and  to  the  Narragansett  Country.  — Philip  concentrates.  — 
The  Colonies  deliberate.  —  Advance  upon  the  Narragansetts.— 
Battle  of  Pettyquanscot  Swamp. 


the  preceding  chapter  it  already  appears 
that  Capts.  Hutchinson  and  Wheeler  had 
been  sent  from  Boston  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  with  the  Nipmucks  at  Meminimis- 
set  (Brookfield)  j  and  that  Capt.  Hutchin- 
Bon  and  others,  in  passing  into  that  Indian  village, 

169 


170  INDIAN  WAES. 

known  to  be  there,  as  he  was,  for  the  purpose  of 
peace,  were  fired  upon  by  two  or  three  hundred 
Indians  from  an  ambuscade  near  a  swamp,  and  were 
slain,  and  Capt.  Wheeler  wounded. 

From  that  the  Indians  flocked  into  the  village, 
setting  fire  to  all  the  dwelling-houses  and  other 
buildings  save  the  one  in  which  the  people  had  gar- 
risoned themselves,  and  which  they  tried  also  to 
burn. 

For  nearly  two  days  they  tried  to  destroy  the 
garrison-house,  in  which  about  seventy  of  the  inhab- 
itants had  taken  refuge,  but  failed. 

Major  Willard,  with  forty-eight  dragoons,  and  Capt. 
Parker  of  Groton,  with  forty-six  more,  on  the  sec- 
ond day  then  from  Boston  came  to  their  relief,  fired 
upon  the  Indians ;  and  the  tribes  as  of  course  took 
to  their  dens  in  the  woods  and  swamps. 

In  this  raid  many  houses  were  burned,  cattle  were 
killed,  and  other  trespasses  committed.  In  the  mean 
time  Capt.  Watts  and  Lieut.  Cooper  arrived  with 
re-enforcements  from  Springfield,  in  all  eighty  Eng- 
lishmen and  Indians. 

These  Indians,  as  usual,  moved  in  small  parties, 
and  were  led  by  several  sachems,  among  whom  were 
Sam,  sachem  of  Weshacum,  and  Netaump,  who  were 
afterr/ards  captured,  and  were  executed  in  Boston. 

Then  Capt.  Lothrop  and  Capt.  Beers  were  sent  up 


TROUBLE  AT  DEEEFIELD  AND  HADLEY.       171 

there  ;  and  Major  Willard  with  several  companies  of 
armed  men  were  sent  into  the  Nipmuck  country  to 
head  off  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  Indians  to  take 
concert  of  action  with  King  Philip  ;  but  to  little  pur- 
pose. These  re-enforcements  traversed  the  woods  in 
various  directions  for  many  miles  5  but  the  tribes  had 
fled. 

DEERFHELD. 

The  hostile  Indians  generally  wandered  westward ; 
and  very  soon  a  considerable  force  of  them  became 
concentrated  at  Deerfield,  Swamscot,  and  Squcikeag, 
places  of  plantations  newly  started. 

At  Hadley  also  the  apparently  neutral  Indians  be- 
gan to  be  suspected,  as  they  inclined  to  make  noises 
while  on  the  pursuit  of  Philip's  force ;  by  reason  of 
which  they  were  called  upon  to  deliver  up  their 
arms  ;  yet  they  refused,  and  fled  like  sheep.  Lothrop 
and  Beers  pursued  and  overtook  them  about  ten 
miles  above  Hatfield,  at  Sugarloaf  Hill,  killed 
twenty-six  of  them,  but  lost  ten  of  their  soldiers. 
The  other  fugitives  fled  away,  and  joined  Philip. 

On  the!  first  of  September,  1675,  the  tribes  beset 
Deerfield,  killed  one  man,  and  laid  most  of  the  town 
in  ashes. 


172  INDIAN   WARS. 

SQUAKEAG. 

Two  or  three  days  afterwards  they  fell  in  upon 
Squakeag,  another  new  plantation  fifteen  miles 
higher  up  the  river,  where  they  killed  nine  or  ten  of 
the  inhabitants,  falling  as  they  did  before  getting 
sheltered  within  the  garrison-house. 

CAPTAIN  BEERS   SLAIN. 

The  next  day  Capt.  Beers,  with  his  force,  on  the 
way  near  by,  was  suddenly  surprised  in  a  thicket  by 
the  swamp-side,  fought  valiantly,  yet  he  and  twenty 
of  his  men  were  killed ;  and  the  remainder  of  his 
men  returned  back  to  Hadley. 

Here  the  heads  of  some  of  the  slain  were  pinioned 
on  poles ;  and  one  or  two  were  afterwards  found  with 
a  chain  hooked  into  the  under  jaw,  and  suspended 
upon  the  limbs  of  a  tree. 

Major  Treat  and  Capt.  Appleton,  with  a  hundred 
men,  visited  the  place  after  the  slaughter,  and  brought 
the  families  garrisoned  there  away,  leaving  the  place 
deserted  of  the  English. 

GARRISONS. 

Northampton,  Hatfield,  Deerfield,  and  other  towns, 
were  now  ordered  to  be  more  securely  garrisoned ; 
Hadley  being  made  their  headquarters. 


LOTHROP  AND  HIS   MEN.  173 

The  corn  at  Deerfield,  three  thousand  bushels, 
standing  in  stacks,  was  accordingly  carried  to  Had- 
ley. 

LOTHROP  AND   HIS   MEN  SLAIN. 

Capfc.  Lothrop  with  eighty  or  ninety  men  was  left 
to  guard  the  corn  and  other  goods. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  1675,  while  march- 
ing along  with  their  carts  of  corn,  apprehending 
no  danger,  they  were  almost  all  cut  off.  He,  with 
most  of  his  men,  was  killed,  some  of  them  teamsters : 
no  more  than  eight  or  ten  escaped. 

The  soldiers  slain  were  the  choice  young  men  of 
Essex  County,  leaving  many  a  sad  heart  at  home 
to  mourn  their  sad,  their  early  departure  from 
earth. 

The  Indians  here  numbered  seven  hundred. 

Subsequently  in  1835,  at  this  battle-ground  in 
Deerfield,  on  the  one  hundred  and  sixtieth  aniversary 
of  the  slaughter  of  Lothrop  and  his  gallant  young 
men  of  Essex,  their  bones  were  hunted  out  like  the 
bones  of  i  Joseph  in  Israel,  by  the  yeomanry  who 
then  came  forth  to  the  number  of  six  thousand, 
and  there  at  Bloody  Brook  advanced  to  erect  a 
stately  monument,  six  feet  square,  and  twenty  feet 
high.  There  under  the  cool  shade  of  a  walnut  tree, 
the  distinguished  orator  (Everett)  as  he  was  wont, 


174  INDIAN   WARS. 

eloquently  discoursed  to  them  of  the  past,  of  the 
present,  and  of  the  world  to  come. 

Thanks  to  the  inhabitants  of  Deerfield,  who  by 
this,  have  contributed  so  much  to  the  valor  of  young 
men ! 

Those  eighty  young  heroes  of  Essex,  who  had 
volunteered  in  behalf  of  civilization,  will  never 
grow  old ;  nor  will  their  memories  (always  green  in 
every  New-England  heart)  grow  cold,  or  fade  in  the 
sunlight  of  the  advancing  ages. 

STORY  OF  ROBERT   DUTCH. 

Major  Treat  had  been  directed  to  join  Mosely  at 
this  point,  who  had  previously  started  another  way 
with  about  one  hundred  soldiers,  Indians  and  Eng- 
lish. They  met,  and  buried  the  dead. 

They  found  upon  the  battle-ground  a  soldier 
of  the  day  before,  Robert  Dutch  of  Ipswich,  who 
had  fallen  by  a  bullet  in  the  head  and  by  the  weight 
of  a  hatchet,  and  had  been  stripped  of  his  clothing, 
and  left  for  dead.  Yet  he  crept  his  way  to  these 
undertakers,  and  was  a  live  wonder  in  the  midst  of 
the  silent  dead,  having  survived  through  that  dreary 
night  to  hail  the  light  of  another  day ;  and  they  say 
lived  to  a  good  old  age. 

This  victory  greatly  encouraged  Philip  and  hia 
tribes.  Yet  it  was  stated  as  coming  from  the  enemy 


INVASION  AT   SPRINGFIELD.  175 

that  on  that  battle-day  with  Lothrop  they  lost  in  all 
ninety-six  men. 

Soon  after  Lothrop's  battle,  Mosely  came  up  while 
the  tribes  were  still  pillaging  the  dead,  gave  them 
battle,  charged  upon  them ;  and  his  lieutenants, 
Perez,  Savage,  and  Pickering,  assisting  in  his  com- 
mand, drove  the  savages  headlong  into  the  swaiap. 

THE  IMPENDING  CRISIS. 

The  Springfield  Indians  had  joined  Philip ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  great  precaution,  by  treaties,  pledges, 
and  hostages,  obtained  on  the  part  of  Springfield, 
Philip's  Indians  had  resolved  to  burn  and  destroy  it. 
To  this  end  they  cunningly  enticed  away  the  hostages 
from  Hartford,  and  secretly  received  three  hundred 
of  Philip's  Indians  into  their  fort  as  re-enforcements, 
undiscovered  of  the  English.  *  All  remained  quiet, 
until  at  once  the  startling  fact  was  revealed  in  ti- 
dings by  post  from  below  Springfield,  that  Lieut. 
Cooper  had  advanced  there  to  ascertain  the  truth  of 
the  message,  when  forth  came  the  bloody  monsters, 
at  once  firing  upon  him,  hit  him  several  times ;  yet  he 
reached  the  next  garrison-house.  They  killed  his 
attendants,  and,  advancing,  fired  the  town  in  all  of 
its  parts  outside  of  the  garrisons. 

As  it  happened,  the  inhabitants  had  taken  alarm 
over  night,  and  many  of  them  had  disappeared,  or 


176  INDIAN  WARS. 

they  would  have  been  totally  destroyed.  Majoi 
Treat  had  come  from  Westfield  in  season  for  theii 
rescue,  although  he  had  not  sufficient  boats  to  trans- 
port his  men.  Also  Major  Pinchen  and  Capt.  Ap- 
pleton  came  with  their  forces ;  and,  although  thirty- 
two  houses  had  been  destroyed,  the  remainder  of  the 
town  was  saved.  The  valuable  library  belonging  to 
the  minister  of  the  town,  Rev.  Peletiah  Clover,  was 
among  the  property  consumed. 

BATTLES  AT   HADLEY,    NOEWOTTUCK. 

The  1st  of  September,  1675,  was  a  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer  in  Hadley ;  and  at  church  the  Indians  fell 
in  upon  them.  The  people  took  to  their  arms,  which 
they  had  at  church,  confronted  the  invaders  ;  but 
their  numbers,  greatly  disproportioned,  eventually 
were  forced  to  falter ;  and  they  gave  way.  At  this 
moment  an  old  hoary-headed  veteran,  "  Goffe"  ap- 
peared in  their  midst,  with  his  frosty  locks  moving  in 
the  breeze,  with  a  firm,  steadfast  voice  re-animating 
their  spirits,  led  them  on  to  another  onset,  and  drove 
the  heartless  savages  out  of  town. 

HATFIELD. 

And  then  on  Oct.  19,  1675,  Capt.  Treat  being  ?,t 
North  Hampton,  Capts.  Mosely,  Poole,  and  Apple- 


CONFLICTS  AT   HADLEY  AND   HATFIELD.      177 

ton  advanced  to  Hatfield,  when  all  at  once  seven 
hundred  of  the  enemy  invaded  the  town  in  every 
direction,  killing  two  or  three  of  the  scouts  of  citi- 
zens, and  seven  of  Mosely's  men  ;  but  they  soon 
found  it  to  be  warm,  dangerous  work.  Appleton's 
sergeant  was  mortally  wounded.  Night  came  on: 
many  were  seen  to  fall,  some  run  into  the  river,  while 
flying  in  various  directions. 

Sunday.  —  After  their  defeat  at  Hatfield,  straggling 
parties  of  them  were  seen  about  North  Hampton, 
Westfield,  and  Springfield. 

In  a  short  time  afterwards  they  set  fire  to  some 
barns  and  outhouses,  and  then  vanished  away  into 
the  wilderness.  Winter  setting  in,  they  now  wan- 
dered away  into  the  Narrangansett  Country ;  yet 
it  was  not  known  to  the  English  where  Philip 
was. 

HASSAMENESET. 

In  1675,  Nov.  1,  Capt.  Henchman  was  sent  from 
Boston  to  beset  the  Indians  at  this  place.  Advan- 
cing, he  on  the  third  day  came  in  sight  of  Indian 
fires ;  but  there  were  no  Indians  to  be  found.  On 
the  fourth  day  they  hunted  along  among  the  planta- 
tions, and  found  a  miller-boy  who  had  been  previously 
taken  by  the  Indians  from  Marlborough :  the  Indians, 
upon  seeing  the  belligerent  intruders,  fled,  leav- 


178  INDIAN   WAKS. 

ing  every  thing  behind  them.  Henchman  with  his 
men  advanced  on  toward  Marlborough,  but  found 
no  Indians.  He  then  proceeded  to  Poppachuog :  from 
there  the  tribes  had  fled.  He  then  came  back  to 
Mendham  to'  examine  into  affairs  there,  heard  of 
\7igwams  about  ten  miles  away,  and  marched  onward 
in  that  direction.  He  was  joined  there  by  Capt. 
Philip  Curtice. 

Early  next  morning  they  espied  a  wigwam  where 
the  enemy  had  camped  over  night.  Some  Indians, 
as  they  ascertained,  had  been  following  them. 

Hearing  thr,t  there  were  Indians  still  farther  on, 
the  captain,  with  Curtice  and  his  lieutenant,  upon 
consultation  mounted  twenty-two  men  upon  horses, 
who  advanced  into  the  woods  ten  miles,  and  found 
somo  wigwams.  But  the  leader,  upon  looking  back, 
four  d  that  he  had  but  five  men  in  the  place  of  the 
twen.ty-two.  He,  however,  assaulted  the  wigwam. 
The  tribe,  returning  the  fire,  shot  the  lieutenant 
and  one  of  his  men;  and  all  the  rest  of  his  force  ran 
awaj  . 

TI  e  next  day  our  people  went  up  there  :  the 
Indians  had  left.  They  buried  the  two  men,  and 
tl.er.  again  returned  to  their  quarters  to  Mendon. 

C  n  the  way  they  destroyed  two  hundred  bushels 
of  ',orn,  as  they  could  not  well  save  it. 


TRIBES   TURN  TOWARDS   NARRAGANSET.      179 
INDIANS   AT   SPRINGFIELD  AND   VICINITY. 

The  Indians  at  this  time  had  been  driven  away 
from  Hartley ;  and  the  people  round  about  there  bar- 
ricaded their  villages  and  towns  by  setting  up  pali- 
sadoes  of  cleft  wood  about  three  feet  in  length  to 
break  the  force  of  sudden  assaults  by  the  Indians, 
which  proved  advantageous  in  their  defence  .against  • 
the  invaders.  Although  in  the  spring  at  North 
Hampton,  the  enemy  succeeded  in  breaking  through 
one  of  these  fortifications,  generally  the  invention 
answered  a  good  purpose. 

At  Springfield  and  other  places  about  there,  small 
parties  of  Indians  were  often  seen  in  the  woods, 
skulking  about  like  demons,  exciting  the  terrors  of 
the  white  man,  as  they  often  devastated  his  lonely  cot, 
destroyed  his  cattle,  or  murdered  his  women  and 
children. 

For  instance :  at  Long  Meadow  a  half  a  score  of 
them  beset  a  cottage  remote  from  the  village ;  but, 
being  at  once  fired  upon  by  our  Englishmen,  they  fled 
towards  Windsor  and  escaped. 

A  Springfield  man,  while  visiting  his  deserted 
house,  to  look  after  his  corn  deposited  there,  was 
shot ;  and  then  his  house  was  burned  down  by  some 
of  the  same  tribe. 

Soon  afterwards  the  tribes  withdrew,  some  towards 


180  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  Dutch  River,  but  most  of  them  to  the  Narragan- 
sett  Fort ;  these  tribes  having  for  the  most  part 
joined  Philip,  although  old  Ninegret,  their  chief, 
now  in  his  dotage,  had  inclined  otherwise. 

After  this  the  soldiers  remained  for  a  while  at 
Ilatfield,  and  then  were  called  back  to  their  head- 
quarters at  Boston. 

THE  COLONIES   DELIBERATE. 

Winter  was  now  approaching ;  and  the  COMMIS- 
SIONERS of  the  four  united  Colonies  took  council 
together  as  to  what  should  next  be  done.  For  now 
they  saw  Philip  in  great  force  of  many  hundreds  con- 
centrated ;  that  during  the  winter,  if  left  alone,  more 
and  more  of  the  tribes  would  take  courage,  and 
follow  at  his  command ;  that  in  the  spring,  leaving 
the  swamps,  the  tribes  would  be  likely  to  devastate 
the  settlements  of  New  England  everywhere.  They 
well  weighed  the  effect  which  a  cold,  sharp  New- 
England  winter  would  have  on  an  army  waiting  and 
bivouacked  on  a  bleak  field,  —  of  its  length,  of  the 
depths  of  the  snow,  of  the  difficulty  of  affording  the 
men  relief  or  supplies. 

They  reasoned,  that,  if  Philip  were  let  al:-ne  all 
that  time,  it  would  be  impossible  to  cope  with  him 
successfully  on  the  approach  of  spring  and  summer, 
when  the  advantages  would  turn  in  his  favor  ;  that 


ENGLISH  ENLIST  MORE  MEN.  181 

the  English  soldiers,  in  squads  and  in  companies, 
would  be  likely  to  fall  one  after  another,  as  might 
well  be  seen  from  the  experience  of  the  past. 

They  further  considered  that  the  Narragansetts ., 
numerous  as  they  were,  best  disciplined,  best  clothed, 
having  the  best  manners,  of  all  the  tribes,  now  re- 
membering the  fate  of  their  dear  old  Miantonimo, 
the  embers  of  whose  ashes  were  alive,  still  burning 
and  firing  their  hearts  the  same  as  they  did  forty 
years  previously  on  Sachem  Plain,  —  they  knew 
that  they  had  broken  out  from  the  network  of  the 
Colonies,  and  had  become  their  deadly  foes  in  their 
adhesion  to  Philip's  army. 

Thereupon  the  commissioners  agreed  to  raise  an 
army  of  a  thousand  men,  to  be  gathered  from  the 
several  Colonies  as  soon  as  might  be,  in  time  not  to 
exceed  the  10th  of  December  of  that  year  (1675) ; 
that  the  Narragansetts  had  violated  every  article  of 
their  treaty,  lately  renewed,  in  this,  that  they  had 
not  delivered  up  the  Englishmen's  enemies  that  had 
sheltered  themselves  in  their  midst,  and  had  been  sup- 
plying them  with  sustenance ;  that  many  of  their  young 
men  were  at  least  suspected  of  being  in  open  arms 
with  Philip's  forces,  some  of  them  having  been 
found  among  his  wounded  in  the  wigwams,  and  else- 
where to  be  healed  of  their  injuries  at  home ;  that 
some  of  the  Englishmen's  guns,  lost  in  the  battle 


182  INDIAN   WAES. 

at  Deerfieid,  were  found  in  their  fort,  left  there 
by  Narragansett  hands  when  it  was  fired  and  con- 
sumed :  by  reason  of  all  which,  the  Colonial  Com- 
missioners having  this  matter  in  charge  ordered  the 
raising  of  an  army  of  a  thousand  fighting  men  to 
be  enlisted  out  of  all  the  Colonies ;  of  which  the  share 
of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  was  to  be  five  hundred 
and  twenty-seven :  the  rest  were  to  be  supplied  out 
of  the  Plymouth  and  Connecticut  Colonies. 

Accordingly  the  one  thousand  men,  together  with 
volunteers  from  the  friendly  tribes,  were  in  due 
time  forthcoming.-  A  commission  was  granted  to 
Josiah  Winslow,  Esq.,  then  governor  of  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony,  a  man  of  courage  and  prudence,  as 
Commander-in-chief.  Thus  under  his  command 
were  six  companies,  led  severally  by  Capt.  Mosely, 
Capt.  Gardner,  Capt.  Davenport,  Capt.  Oliver. 

Also  five  companies  from  Connecticut  under  Major 
Treat,  to  be  led  severally  by  Capt.  Siely,  Capt. 
Gallop,  Capt.  Mason,  Capt.  Watts,  and  Capt.  Mar- 
shall. 

Also  two  companies  from  Plymouth,  to  be  led  by 
Major  Bradford  and  Capt.  Gorham.  Samuel  Apple- 
ton  was  in  command  as  major  of  the  Massachu- 
setts forces. 

The  Massachusetts  force  as  raised  numbered 
four  hundred  and  sixty-five  men,  besides  a  troop  of 


MOSLEY'S  FORCE  MOVES  ONWARD.        183 

horse  commanded  by  Capt.  Thomas  Prentice,  which 
were  delivered  to  the  general  in  command  at  Ded- 
ham,  Dec.  9,  1675. 

On  that  night  they  marched  to  Woodcock's,  about 
twenty-seven  miles  from  Dedham,  and  on  the  next 
night  they  had  arrived  at  Seaconk.  Thence  Capt. 
Mosely  and  his  company  with  Mr.  Smith  proceeded 
onward,  and  the  next  day  were  ferried  over  the 
water  to  Providence. 

"WTCKFORD. 

On  the  12th,  after  passing  over  Patuxet  River, 
they  marched  through  Powham's  Country,  and  at 
night  joined  in  with  Capt.  Mosely  and  his  force  at 
their  destined  headquarters  in  Wickford. 

On  his  way  Capt.  Mosely  had  surprised  thirty-six 
Indians  ;  took  one  by  the  name  of  Peter,  and  brought 
him  along  with  him  as  a  guide,  who  in  the  end  proved 
useful. 

On  the  14th,  two  days  afterwards,  a  scout  was 
sent  out  under  Sergeant  Bennet,  who  killed  one  Indian 
p.nd  one  squaw,  and  brought  in  four  others.  After- 
wards the  whole  company  moved  into  the  wilderness, 
where  they  burned  a  hundred  and  fifty  wigwams, 
killed  seven  Indians,  and  brought  in  at  night  eight 
prisoners- 


184  INDIAN  WARS. 

STONEWALL  JOHN. 

On  the  following  day  this  Indian  came  into  camp 
as  if  from  the  sachems,  expressing  a  desire  for  peace, 
yet  full  of  doubts  whether  the  English  would  dare 
engage  so  formidable  an  enemy  as  King  Philip.  At 
length  this  fellow  started  homeward  ;  and  the  o.rew 
that  attended  him  falling  in  with  some  of  Capt. 
Gardner's  men,  who  were  wandering  about  without 
orders,  slew  his  sergeant  and  one  or  two  more,  and 
also  two  of  Capt.  Oliver's  men.  Others  came  up, 
fired  several  times  at  Capt.  Mosely,  doing  him  no 
harm ;  but  some  of  his  men,  charging  upon  the  sav- 
ages, killed  one  of  them  and  the  rest  fled. 

BULL'S  GARRISON. 

Next  day  news  came  that  Jerry  Bull's  garrison- 
house  had  been  burnt  at  Pettyquamscot  by  the 
tribes,  that  ten  Englishmen  and  five  women  and 
children  had  been  killed,  two  only  having  escaped 
from  it. 

On  the  following  day  news  also  came  from  Petty- 
quamscot that  the  Connecticut  forces  had  arrived 
there  on  behalf  of  the  English  with  three  hundred 
Mohegans  "  ready  fixed"  to  give  battle  against  the 
Narragansetts,  and  that  they  had  already  slain  five  or 
six  of  them,  and  had  taken  as  many  more  prison- 
era. 


BATTLE  IN  THE  SWAMP.  185 

THE  ADVANCE  TO  PETTYQUAMSCOT. 

The  English  and  allied  tribes  having  now  all  ar- 
rived, their  first  great  care  was  to  obtain  supplies, 
and  to  protect  themselves  against  the  cold  storms  of 
a  New-England  winter,  as  well  as  against  the  am- 
bushed tribes  of  Philip,  who  lurked  in  every  swamp 
that  surrounded  them. 

Then  on  the  next  day  the  whole  Massachusetts 
and  Plymouth  forces,  with  an  intention  to  engage 
the  enemy,  advanced  to  Pettyquamscot. 

The  Connecticut  forces,  their  house  of  rendezvous 
having  been  consumed,  and  for  want  of  shelter  from 
the  extreme  cold,  now  on  that  cold,  stormy  evening 
marched  on  through  the  snow  at  night,  having  and 
finding  no  protection  better  than  the  sharp  air  of  the 
skies,  and  the  fleecy,  frosty  snow  that  all  night  long 
fell  upon  their  shoulders, 

It  was  Dec.  19,  1675,  at  one  o'clock,  P.M.,  when 
they  arrived  at  Pettyquamscot,  after  a  march  of  four- 
teen miles  through  that  country  of  the  old  Snulce 
Squaw  of  Narragansett.  Still  advancing,  they 
reached  a  swamp,  as  they  were  told  by  their  guide 
they  would  find  Indians. 

Capts.  Mosely  and  Davenport  were  then  on  the 
lead ;  and  Major  Appleton  and  Oliver  were  following 
with  the  Massachusetts  forces,  Gen.  Winslow  with 


180  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  Plymouth  men  in  the  centre ;  and  the  Connecticut 
troops  were  following  on  in  the  reai. 

BATTLE  OF  NARKAGANSETT. 

The  front  files,  upon  discovering  Indians  in  the 
woods,  fired  at  them ;  and  their  fire  was  returned  from 
the  swamp,  the  Indians  flying  farther  in.  Still 
they  were  followed  by  the  invaders  until  they  reached 
a  fort,  into  which  the  tribes  betook  themselves.  This 
battle-ground  was  an  island  of  four  acres  in  the  wil- 
derness, surrounded  by  a  dense  swamp.  It  is  now 
an  upland  meadow  a  few  feet  higher  than  its  adja- 
cent lands,  situated  in  South  Kingston,  Rhode  Island. 
In  the  fort  upon  it,  there  was  but  one  entrance :  yet 
the  Indians  had  many  ways  of  coming  out  _of  it.  It 
had  been  raised  upon  an  island  of  four  or  five  acres 
of  rising  land  in  the  midst  of  a  swamp.  The  sides 
of  it  were  made  of  palisadoes  set  upright,  compassed 
about  by  a  dense,  impenetrable  hedge  of  almost  a  rod 
in  thickness.  Its  usual  Indian  place  of  entrance  was 
over  a  long  tree  extending  over  a  pool  of  water,  and 
portended  death,  such  was  its  exposure,  to  any  and  to 
all  who  might  venture  to  enter  the  fort  in  that  direc- 
tion. At  one  corner  also  there  was  a  cap  made  up 
of  a  long  log  laying  four  or  five  feet  from  the  ground 
over  which  files  of  men  might  also  pass.  Yet  nearly 
opposite  to  it  was  a  block-house. 


ENGLISH  OFFICERS   SLAIN.  187 

The  English  filed  in  upon  these,  the  only  entrances ; 
and  from  the  block-houses,  as  well  as  the  ambushes 
within,  they  were  shot  down  nearly  as  fast  as  they 
arrived.  Capts.  Johnson  and  Davenport  both  fell. 
The  soldiers  were  driven  back  :  they  threw  them- 
selves upon  the  ground  to  avoid  the  shots:  mariy 
men  were  lost.  At  the  last  two  fresh  companies 
were  brought  up  to  another  assault,  who  charged  in 
upon  them,  raising  the  cry,  "  They  run !  they  run  !  " 
This  frightened  the  enemy,  and  encouraged  their  com- 
rades, two  fresh  companies  thus  being  brought  in. 
They  fought  valiantly  in  the  place  of  the  four  which 
had  already  been  engaged.  The  enemy  was  driven  from 
the  fort,  but  not  without  great  loss  on  the  part  of  the 
assailants  ;  but  the  enemy  lay  dead  in  great  numbers 
in  and  about  the  fort  and  swamp. 

No  less  than  six  brave  leaders  fell  on  the  part  of 
the  English ;  to  wit,  Capts.  Gallop,  Siely,  Mar- 
shall, and  Lieut.  Upham,  as  well  as  Davenport  and 
Johnson  already  named. 

The  invaders  then  set  fire  to  the  wigwams  of  the 
fort,  in  which  were  remaining  women  and  children, 
who  many  of  them  were  destroyed  in  the  general 
conflagration  of  five  or  six  hundred  dirty,  smoky 
cells. 

That  night  the  English  forces  had  to  marc  h  back 
to  their  dreary  headquarters,  whicli  then  lay  fifteen 


188  INDIAN  WARS. 

miles  to  the  rear,  bearing  and  carrying  the  bodies  of 
their  dead  and  wounded  along  with  them  through 
the  snow. 

And  thus  the  war  upon  the  Narragansetts  who  had 
threatened  to  join  Philip  had  now  in  good  earnest 
commenced. 

Drake,  S.  G.,  the  historian,  says,  "Eighty  English 
were  killed  in  this  fight,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
wounded,  many  of  whom  died  afterwards.  The  shat- 
tered army  left  the  ground  in  considerable  haste, 
leaving  eight  of  their  dead  in  the  fort."  "Philip 
and  such  of  his  warriors  as  escaped  unhurt,  fled  into 
a  place  of  safety,  until  their  enemy  had  retired ;  and 
then  they  again  returned  back  into  the  fated  fort. 
The  English  in  their  retreat  must  have  expected  a 
pursuit;  but  Philip,  not  knowing  their  dread  con- 
dition, did  not  venture  any  attempt  to  follow  his  in- 
vaders." 

Oh,  how  long  and  sad  must  have  been  that  re- 
treat !  —  a  retreat,  with  their  dead  and  wounded,  at 
night,  in  the  dense  wilderness,  amid  the  deep  snows 
of  dreary  winter ! 


CHAPTER  XII. 


BATTLE  DT  THE  PETTYQUAMSCOT  SWAMP. 

Smoke  of  Wigwams  on  Fire. — Indian  Dead  and  Dying.  — English 
Force  returning  at  Night,  and  bearing  their  Dead.  —  Prentice 
and  Men  are  sent  to  Popham's  Country.  —  Ninegret  proposes 
Peace.  —  More  Soldiers  from  Boston.  —  Canonicus  asks  a  Suspen- 
sion. — Tribes  start  Northward  towards  the  Nipinucks.  —  Indians 
seize  Two  Hundred  Sheep,  Fifty  Cattle,  Fifteen  Horses.— Eng- 
lish follow;  take  Seventy,  and  kill  some  of  them.  —  Philip's 
Force  join  the  Nipmucks.  —  Massacres  at  Lancaster.  — Mrs.  Row- 
landson's  Captivity,  and  Narrative  verbatim. — Her  Conversa- 
tions with  King  Philip.  —  Massacre  at  Medfield.  —  Mrs.  Rowland- 
son  describes  the  Indians'  Return  from  this  Battle.  —A  Rally  for 
the  Battle.  —  Tribes  near  Patuxet.  —  A  Hundred  and  Forty  of 
them  killed.  —  At  Warwick,  Houses  burned.  —  In  Plymouth, 
Houses  burned,  and  Eleven  killed.  — Indians  near  Rehoboth  and 
Swansey  burn  Thirty  Barns  and  Forty  Houses.  —  Connecticut 
Colony  sends  Dennison  with  Forces  to  head  them  off.  —  Killed 
Forty-five  without  Loss.  —  CanoncJiet  is  shot.  —  Battle  at 
Sudbury.  —  Capt.  Wadsworth  and  Sixty  Men  slain.  —  Their  Mon- 
ument.—  An  Indian  Dance.  —  Mary  Rowlandson  released  from 
Captivity. 


was  night ;  and  the  smoke  of  the  wig- 
wams was  still  beclouding  the  heavens. 
The  Indian  dead,  including  their  women 
and  children  slain  by  the  sword  or  con- 
sumed in  the  conflagration  of  the  fort, 
still  haunted  the  frosty  pathways  of  the  wilderness. 


190 


INDIAN  WARS. 


all  the  way  along,  through  that  night,  as  the  English 
bore  their  ninety  dead  and  wounded  back  with  them 
fifteen  miles  to  their  headquarters  already  consumed. 
Those  gallant  men,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  the 
preceding  night  marched  through  the  perpetual 
snows  to  this  battle-field,  and  again  back  all  night 
long,  burdened  with  the  fatigue  of  the  battle,  and  of 
their  valiant  dead  through  the  woods.  Was  there 
ever  a  night  more  sad,  more  terrific,  more  hideous, 
than  this  ?  Is  it  to  be  wondered  that  many  a  gallant 
heart  at  this  second  great  battle  in  Philip's  war  per- 
ished ?  Is  it  to  be  wondered  that  the  English  author- 
ities thereafterwards  sought  safety  in  attempted 
fruitless  treaties  during  what  remained  of  the  win- 
ter, making  but  few  and  feeble  military  movements 
against  Philip  and  the  Narragansetts  until  spring? 
Yet  murders  and  skirmishes  were  common  as  usual. 

The  killed  and  wounded  under  the  several  com- 
manders in  this  battle  of  December  19,  1675,  were 
as  follows  :  — 


Connecticut  Companies. 

S.aln  and  Wounded, 
New  Haven  Co.,  20 

Capt.  Siely's  Co.,  20 

"     Watts's  Co.,  IT 

"     Marshall's  Co.,  14 

Plymouth  Co.,  Commanders 
Bradford  and  Gorham,        20 

91 


Mass.  Companies. 

Killed. 

Wounded. 

Major  Appleton, 

3 

22 

Capt.  Mosely, 

9 

10 

"     Oliver, 

5 

10 

"     Gardner, 

7 

11 

"     Johnson, 

3 

11 

"     Davenport, 

4 

15 

31 

79 

THE  TEIB^S   SEEK  A   SUSPENSION.  191 

On  the  27th  of  December,  Capt.  Prentice  with  u 
small  force  was  sent  into  Popham's  country ;  found 
no  Indians,  yet  burned  a  hundred  wigwams.  He 
there  learned,  from  one  of  Philip's  squaws  and  others, 
that  in  the  battle  near  Pettyquamscot  the  Narragan- 
setts  lost  three  hundred  warriors. 

On  the  8th  of  January,  Canonchet,  a  messenger 
from  Ninegret,  came  into  camp,  who  brought  a  letter 
from  Stanton  an  interpreter,  expressing  from  this  old 
sachem  friendship  as  ever,  and  who  also  said  that 
corn  was  two  shillings  a  pint  among  the  tribes. 

Jan.  10,  a  supply  of  soldiers  were  sent  from 
Boston,  in  a  severe  snow-storm. 

Jan.  12,  a  messenger  came  from  Canonicus,  asking 
a  suspension  of  hostilities  for  a  month,  in  which  to 
negotiate  a  treaty ;  but  the  proposition  was  rejected. 

By  prisoners  which  were  brought  in,  it  soon  ap- 
peared that  the  tribes  had  started,  and  were  trailing 
away  to  the  woodland  swamps  of  the  Nipmuck  coun- 
try ;  which  country,  as  we  have  seen,  lies  between  the 
Connecticut  and  Merrimack  Rivers. 

Capt.  Prentice,  Jan.  21,  with  his  force,  fell  in  with 
one  of  the  tribes,  took  two  prisoners  and  killed  nine 
Indians.  One  of  his  men  (Dodge  of  Salem),  riding 
with  his  friend,  met  two  Indians.  —  Dodge  pursued 
one  of  them,  his  friend  the  other.— His  pistol  snapped  ; 
the  Indian  pulled  him  from  his  horse,  and  fell  upon 


192  INDIAN  WARS. 

him  with  a  knife  in  hand.  Dodge,  seeing  it,  caught 
hold  of  it,  saved  the  life  of  his  friend,  and  killed  both 
Indians. 

The  English  authorities  are  now  beginning  to  dis- 
cover the  necessity  of  following  the  tribes  in  their 
hidden  trails  to  the  Nipmuck  wilderness.  But  the 
Indians  were  already  far  ahead  of  their  time  of  being 
ready  to  commence  the  pursuit ;  and,  as  the  Indians 
advanced,  they  seized  two  hundred  sheep,  fifty  head  of 
cattle,  and  fifteen  horses,  belonging  to  one  Carpenter ; 
drove  them  along  with  them  to  be  used  as  supplies 
among  the  Nipmucks. 

The  English  forces  followed  them,  troubling  them 
in  the  rear,  discovered  the  heads  of  fifty  horses  in 
one  place,  fell  in  with  some  of  the  tardy  savages, 
killed  and  took  about  seventy  of  them,  but  could 
not  obtain  an  open  battle,  as  they  would  always, 
when  assaulted,  take  to  the  swamps.  After  pursu- 
ing them  far  into  the  thickets  between  Marlboro'  and 
Brookfield,  towards  Connecticut,  our  forces  in  the 
beginning  of  February  returned  to  Boston. 

Then  the  Narragansetts,  thus  left  alone,  joined  the 
Nipmucks ;  and  now  on  the  10th  of  February,  1675, 
we  come  to  the 

MASSACRE  AT   LANCASTER. 

This  was  a  village  of  about  fifty  families.  The 
minister  of  that  locality  (Rev.  Joseph  Rowlandson) 


MRS.    ROWLANDSON.  193 

was  away ;  and  the  minister  was  generally  the  leader, 
if  not  the  law-giver,  almost  everywhere  in  those 
days.  That  night,  on  his  return  from  Boston,  where 
he  had  been  to  consult  the  governor  as  to  how  Lan- 
caster should  be  defended  against  the  invaders,  it 
was  to  meet  the  tragic  news  that  Lancaster  was  in 
ashes,  its  inhabitants,  including  his  wife  and  children, 
all  gone. 

His  own  mansion  had  previously  been  changed 
into  a  garrison ;  and  within  it  were  men  to  defend  it. 
Yet  the  fortifications  on  the  back  side  of  it  being 
closed  up  with  firewood,  the  Indians  forced  their  way 
to  it,  set  it  on  fire  ;  and  its  inhabitants  within  were 
then  subjected  to  the  alternative  to  yield  to  the  mer- 
ciless savages,  or  to  be  consumed  in  the  crackling 
conflagration.  It  was  thus  the  forty-two  inmates  of 
that  minister's  garrison  fell :  twenty-two  of  them 
were  carried  away  captive,  mostly  women  and  chil- 
dren grown ;  the  rest  were  murdered  outright,  or 
reserved  for  further  misery.  Several  of  them  who 
were  not  killed  in  the  fight  were  slain  in  their  at- 
tempt to  escape,  as  well  as  others  who  were  not 
deemed  valuable  as  captives. 

MARY  ROWLANDSON. 

MARY  was  the  wife,  in  whose  care  the  household 
was  left  when  her  reverend  husband  left  it  to  consult 


194  INDIAN    WAES. 

the  governor  at  Boston.  She  with  her  children  was 
among  the  captives  of  that  day,  was  doomed  to 
many  months  in  captivity,  saw  and  talked  with 
King  Philip  ;  and  in  this  matter  I  can  give  the  reader 
no  light  mo::e  interesting  than  to  allow  Mary  to 
speak  here  in  her  own  words. 

MAKY  KOWLANDSON'S  "REMOVES." 

Mary,  in  twenty  chapters  which  she  at  the  time 
denominated  "  REMOVES,"  wrote  and  published  a 
full  account  of  what  she  heard  and  saw  of  the  tribes 
during  her  captivity  in  1675.  In  this  narrative, 
among  other  things,  she  says, — 

"  On  the  10th  of  February  came  the  Indians  in 
great  numbers "  (Nashuas  and  Nipmucks,  led  by 
Sagamore  Sam)  "  upon  Lancaster.  Their  first  coming 
was  about  sun-rising.  Hearing  the  noise  of  some 
guns,  we  looked  out :  several  houses  were  burning, 
and  the  smoke  ascending  to  heaven. 

"  There  were  five  persons  taken  in  one  house.  The 
father  and  mother  and  an  infant  child  they  knocked 
in  the  head :  the  other  two  they  took  and  carried 
away  alive.  There  were  two  others,  who,  being  out 
of  their  garrison  upon  occasion,  were  set  upon.  One 
was  knocked  on  the  head:  the  other  escaped. 
Another  there  was,  who,  running  along,  was  shot  and 
W)unded,  and  fell  down.  He  begged  of  them  his 


MARY'S  OWN  STORY.  195 

life,  promising  them  money  (as  they  told  me)  ;  but 
they  would  not  hearken  to  him,  but  knocked  him  on 
the  head,  stripped  him  naked,  and  mangled  him. 

"  Another,  seeing  many  of  the  Indians  about  his 
barn,  ventured  and  went  out,  and  was  shot  down. 

"  There  were  three  others  belonging  to  the  same 
garrison  who  were  killed.  The  Indians,  getting  up 
upon  the  roof  of  the  barn,  had  advantage  to  shoot 
down  upon  them  over  their  fortifications. 

"  Thus  these  murderous  wretches  went  on,  burn- 
ing and  destroying  all  before  them. 

"  At  length  they  came  and  beset  our  house  ;  and 
quickly  it  was  the  dolefullest  day  that  mine  eyes  ever 
saw. 

"  The  house  stood  upon  the  edge  of  a  hill.  Some 
of  the  Indians  got  behind  the  hill,  others  into  the 
barn,  and  others  behind  any  thing  that  would  shelter 
them ;  from  all  which  places  they  shot  against  the 
house,  so  that  the  bullets  seemed  to  fly  like  hail ;  and 
quickly  they  wounded  one  man  among  us,  then 
another,  and  then  a  third. 

"  About  two  hours,  according  to  my  observation 
in  that  amazing  time,  they  had  been  about  the  house 
before  they  prevailed  to  fire  it,  which  they  did  with 
flax  and  hemp  which  they  brought  out  of  the  barn. 
And  there  being  no  defence  about  the  house,  only 
two  flankers  at  two  opposite  corners,  and  one  of 


196  INDIAN   WARS. 

them  not  finished,  they  fired  it  once  ;  and  one  ven- 
tured out,  and  quenched  it.  But  they  quickly  fired  it 
again  ;  and  that  took. 

"  Now  is  the  dreadful  hour  come  that  I  have  of  Leu 
heard  of  in  the  time  of  the  war,  as  it  was  the  case 
of  others  ;  but  now  mine  eyes  see  it. 

THE  DREAD  SCENE. 

"  Some  in  our  house  were  fighting  for  their  lives, 
others  wallowing  in  blood,  the  house  on  fire  over 
our  heads,  and  the  bloody  heathen  ready  to  knock 
us  on  the  head  if  we  stirred  out. 

"  Now  might  we  hear  mothers  and  children  crying 
out  for  themselves  and  one  another,  '•Lord,  what 
shall  we  do  ? ' 

"  Then  I  took  my  children,  and  one  of  my  sister's 
girls,  to  go  forth  and  leave  the  house ;  but,  as  soon  as 
we  came  to  the  door  and  appeared,  the  Indians  shot 
so  thick,  that  the  bullets  rattled  against  the  house 
as  if  one  had  taken  a  handful  of  stones  and  threw 
them  ;  so  that  we  were  forced  to  give  back.  We  had 
six  stout  dogs  belonging  to  our  garrison  ;  but  none 
of  them  would  stir,  though  at  another  time  if  an 
Indian  had  come  to  the  door  they  were  ready  to  fly 
upon  him  and  tear  him  down.  .  .  .  But  out  we  must 
go,  the  fire  increasing  and  coming  along  behind  us 
roaring,  and  the  Indians  gaping  before  us  with  their 
spears  and  hatchets  to  devour  us. 


MARY  IS   WOUNDED.  197 

"No  sooner  were  we  out  of  the  house,  but  rny 
brother-in-law  (being  before  wounded  in  defending 
the  house,  in  or  near  the  throat),  fell  down  dead ; 
whereat  the  Indians  scornfully  shouted  and  hallooed, 
and  were  presently  upon  him  stripping  off  his 
clothes. 

A  BULLET   STRIKES   HER. 

"  The  bullets  flying  thick,  one  went  through  my 
side,  and  the  same  (as  would  seem)  through  the 
bowels  and  hand  of  my  poor  child  in  my  arms. 

"  One  of  my  elder  sister's  children,  named  Wil- 
liam, had  then  his  leg  broken,  which  the  Indians 
perceiving  knocked  him  on  the  head. 

"  Thus  were  we  butchered  by  those  merciless 
heathens,  standing  amazed,  with  the  blood  running 
down  our  heels. 

"  My  eldest  sister,  seeing  her  William  and  others 
dead,  exclaimed,  '  Lord,  let  me  die  with  them  ! '  At  the 
same  moment  a  bullet  struck  her ;  and  she  fell  down 
dead  over  the  threshold. 

"  The  Indians  laid  hold  of  us,  pulling  me  one  way 
and  the  children  another,  and  said,  '  Come,  go  along 
with  us.'  I  told  them  they  would  kill  me.  They 
answered,  *  If  I  were  willing  to  go  along  with  them 
they  would  not  hurt  me.9 

"  There  were  twelve  killed,  some  shot,  some 
knocked  down  with  their  hatchets." 


198  INDIAN   WARS. 

Maiy  says,  "  Those  seven  that  were  killed  at  Lan- 
caster the  summer  before  upon  a  sabbath  day,  and 
the  one  that  was  afterwards  killed  upon  a  week  day, 
were  slain  and  mangled  in  a  barbarous  manner  by 
*  ONE-EYED  JOHN,'  and  Marlborough's  praying  Indi- 
ans which  Capt.  Mosely  brought  to  Boston,  as  the 
Indians  told  her. 

On  the  leaving  of  Lancaster  she  says,  — 

"  One  of  the  Indians  carried  my  poor  sick 
wounded  babe  "  (a  daughter  six  years  old)  "  upon  a 
horse.  I  went  moaning  along,  '  /  shall  die,  I  shall 
die  ! '  I  went  on  foot  after  it.  At  length  I  took  it 
off  the  horse,  and  carried  it  in  my  arms  till  my 
strength  failed,  and  I  fell  down  with  it.  Then  they 
set  me  upon  a  horse,  with  my  wounded  child  in  my 
lap." 

There  was  a  fall  of  snow  ;  and  Mary  goes  on  to 
tell  how  she  suffered  with  the  wound  in  her  side  all 
the  way  through,  with  the  child  in  her  arms  fast 
breathing  out  its  life  upon  the  broken  boughs  of 
the  forest,  and  upon  the  cold  snows  of  a  February 
night. 

This  tribe  dwelt  a  while  at  Wenimessett  now  New 
Braintree,  as  they  were  on  their  way  to  Albany, 
which  place  had,  for  the  time  being,  been  adopted 
as  the  headquarters  of  King  Philip. 

For  nine  days  she  bore  her  sick  and  faint  little 


MOUNT  GRACE,  MASS.,  page  198. 


MARY  S   CHILD  DIES.  199 

daughter  along  :  at  length,  in  the  wigwam,  as  she 
says,  "  About  two  hours  in  the  night,  my  sweet 
babe  like  a  lamb  departed  this  life,  on  Feb.  18, 
1675,  it  being  about  six  years  and  five  months  old." 

Mary,  as  it  seems,  still  hugged  her  dead  daughtei 
to  her  bosom  for  one  or  two  nights :  and  at  length, 
when  the  tribe  next  started  upon  the  trail,  she  again 
clasped  it  in  her  arms  to  bear  it  along  with  her ;  but 
the  tribe,  with  more  show  of  humanity  than  usual, 
tore  it  away  from  her  bosom,  and  buried  it.  Mary 
as  yet  had  a  daughter  and  son ;  but  they  were  held 
by  other  tribes. 

And  here  we  may  observe,  there  is  an  elevation 
of  land  in  Warwick,  near  the  place  where  the 
savages  buried  that  little  Grace  Rowlandson,  which 
has  ever  since  borne  her  name.  It  is  called  Mount 
Grace. 

MASSACRE  AT  MEDF1ELD. 

While  Mary  was  still  with  them,  Feb.  21,  1675, 
three  hundred  Indians  advanced  upon  Medfield.  It 
had  a  garrison  supposed  to  be  well  guarded*  by  sol- 
diers and  by  its  inhabitants ;  yet  fire  and  slaughter 
followed. 

The  young  growth  in  the  surrounding  woodlands 
afforded  a  thick-set  shelter,  and  favored  the  schemes 
of  the  invaders.  In  these  coverts,  and  in  the  barns, 
orchards,  and  under  the  fences,  they  hid  themselves 


200  INDIAN  WARS. 

as  usual;  and  then  they  leaped  upon  the  villagers 
with  the  ferocity  of  tigers :  thus  they  killed  eighteen 
and  wounded  twenty  of  the  inhabitants  of  Medfield. 
The  houses  in  the  centre,  in  the  west,  and  in  the 
south-west  parts  of  the  town  were  mostly  burnt 
down :  an  old  man  was  burnt  in  one  of  them.  Lieut. 
Adams  and  wife  among  others  were  killed ;  and  forty 
or  fifty  houses  and  barns  were  consumed.  The  loss 
to  this  town  was  upwards  of  two  thousand  pounds. 

Of  this  battle  Mary,  being  among  their  women 
and  children,  had  been  informed,  and  thus  goes  on  to 
say, — 

"  The  next  day  the  Indians  returned  from  Med- 
field, —  all  the  company ;  for  those  that  belonged  to 
the  other,  smaller  company  came  through  the  town 
that  now  we  are  at.  But  before  they  came  to  us, 
—  oh  the  outrageous  roaring  and  the  whooping 
that  there  was !  They  began  their  din  about  a  mile 
away.  By  their  noise  and  whooping  they  signified 
how  many  they  had  destroyed.  Those  that  were 
with  uS  were  gathered  together  as  soon  as  they 
heard  the  whooping;  and,  every  time  they  repeated  the 
number  slain,  these  at  home  gave  a  shout  that  the 
very  earth  rang  again.'.'  And  thus  they  continued 
till  they  arrived  to  the  sagamore's  wigwam.  And 
then  she  goes  on  to  tell  "  how  hideous  were  their 
yells  and  triumphant  exultation  at  and  over  the 


MARY    VISITS   KING   PHILIP.  201 

scalps  of  Englishmen  which  they  had  taken,  and 
had  brought  along  with  them  from  Medfield." 

These  tribes,  as  we  have  said,  were  tending  to- 
wards Albany.  They  advanced ;  and  at  her  eighth 
remove  Mary  says,  "  We  travelled  on  till  night ;  and 
in  (he  morning  we  must  go  over  the  river  (Hudson) 
to  see  Philip's  crew. 

"  While  I  was  in  the  canoe,  I  could  not  but  be 
amazed  at  the  numerous  crew  of  pagans  that  were 
on  the  bank  on  the  other  side.  When  I  came  ashore, 
they  gathered  all  about  me,  I  sitting  alone  in  the 
midst.  They  asked  one  another  questions,  and 
laughed  and  rejoiced  over  their  gains  and  victories. 

MARY   DINES   WITH  KING  PHILIP. 

"  Then  I  went  to  see  King  Philip.  He  bid  me 
come  in,  and  sit  down,  and  asked  me  whether  I  would 
smoke  it  ?  But  this  in  no  way  suited  me. 

"Next"  (she  says)  "the  Indians  gathered  theii 
forces  10  go  against  Northampton. 

"  Over  night  one  went  about  yelling  and  whoop- 
ing to  give  notice  of  the  design;  whereupon  they 
went  to  boiling  of  ground-nuts,  and  parching  corn 
(as  manj'-  as  had  it)  for  their  provision  ;  and  in  the 
morning  away  they  went. 

"  During  my  abode  in  this  place  Philip  spoke  to 
me  to  make  a  shirt  for  his  boy,  which  1  did ;  for 


202     '  INDIAN   WARS. 

which  he  gave  me  a  shilling.  I  offered  the  money 
to  my  mistress;  but  she  bid  me  keep  it,  and  with 
it  I  bought  a  piece  of  horse-flesh.  Afterwards  he 
asked  me  to  make  a  cap  for  his  boy,  for  which  lie 
invited  me  to  dinner.  I  went ;  and  he  gave  me  a  pan- 
cake about  as  big  as  two  fingers :  it  was  made  of 
parched  wheat,  beaten,  and  fried  in  bear's  grease  ;  but 
I  thought  I  never  tasted  pleasanter  meat  in  my  life.'1 

TRIBES   AT  PATUXET. 

While  Mary  was  still  with  Philip's  Indians,  within 
a  month  after  their  attack  upon  Medfield,  constantly 
changing  place,  the  tribes  were  seen  to  the  number 
of  six  hundred  near  Patuxet  and  Providence.  They 
did  much  mischief  on  the  way. 

On  the  12th  of  March,  eleven  persons  had  been 
slain  by  them  in  Plymouth,  and  several  houses 
burned.  On  the  seventeenth  they  had  beset  War- 
wick near  Narragansett,  and  had  destroyed  much 
property  there ;  and  on  the  25th  of  March  some  of 
the  tribes  had  fallen  in  upon  Weymouth,  and  had 
destroyed  dwelling-houses  there. 

Then  on  the  28th  of  March,  1676,  they  swept 
around  towards  the  Narragansett  country,  and  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Rehoboth  and  Swansey  burned 
nearly  thirty  barns  and  forty  dwelling-houses. 

In  April,   1676,    Canonchet,   chief    sachem,  and 


CANONCHET,  A  PRISONER.  203 

Philip,  being  driven  out  from  their  own  country  the 
winter  previously  by  the  English,  now  from  the  west- 
ward, in  order  to  obtain  subsistence  for  the  tribes  in 
campaign  of  the  spring  and  summer,  had  intended 
that  all  the  plantations  taken  from  the  English 
should  be  planted  to  corn ;  and  for  that  reason  ven- 
tured with  thirty  men  to  bring  his  seed-corn  from 
Seaconk  (near  Mount  Hope),  and  started  on  his 
journey,  leaving  Philip's  force  of  fifteen  hundred 
men  in  and  about  Seaconk,  to  await  his  return. 

But,  as  it  happened,  Capt.  George  Dennison  of 
New  London,  who  previously,  on  March  27,  1676, 
had  started  on  an  expedition  made  up  of  forty-seven 
English,  eighty  Indians,  twenty  of  whom  were 
Ninegret  Narragansetts,  led  by  Catapazet,  the  others 
were  Pequots  under  Cassasinamon,  and  Mohegan 
under  Oweneco,  son  of  Uncas. 

This  force  accidentally  intercepted  Canonchet. 
They  slew  one  of  his  men ;  and  from  two  squaws  they 
learned  that  Canonchet  was  near.  They  started  after 
him  and  his  men,  chased  them  around  a  hill,  and 
finally  captured  Canonchet.  In  the  race  he  cast  off 
his  lace  coat,  given  him  previously,  in  October,  at  a 
treaty  in  Boston.  A  young  Englishman  now  speak- 
ing to  him,  the  sachem  replied  in  broken  English, 
"  You  much  child,  no  understand  matters  of  war.  Lei 
your  brother  or  your  chief  come :  him  I  will  answer." 


204  INDIAN   WAKS. 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  chose  to  die  rather 
than  to  make  concessions.  He  with  two  Pecjuots 
were  imprisoned,  and  were  shot  at  Stonington. 

As  soon  as  news  of  the  enemy's  returning  was 
known,  the  Connecticut  Colony,  April  1,  1676,  di- 
rected Capt.  George  Dennison,  with  his  force  made 
up  of  Mohegans,  Pequots,  and  Nianticks  belonging  to 
Ninegret  the  Narragansett  sachem,  as  we  have  stated ; 
who  followed  the  tribes,  and  killed  there  and  on  the 
way  forty-five  of  them  without  much  loss.  Several 
of  the  sagamores  were  either  slain  or  taken  prisoners, 
among  whom,  as  we  have  seen,  was  Canonchet,  chief 
sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  and  son  of  Miantonimo, 
and  the  right  heir  of  his  nation's  pride,  as  well  as 
the  avenger  of  the  murder  of  his  valiant  father,  who 
had  been  brutally  murdered  through  the  treachery 
of  the  English.  The  son,  a  prisoner,  was  now  exe- 
cuted at  Stonington. 

It  appears  now  that  the  war  and  the  winter  had 
wasted  many  from  the  ranks  of  that  numerous 
nation.  They  numbered  in  the  commencement,  as 
was  supposed,  nearly  two  thousand  warriors,  with 
nine  hundred  stand  of  arms,  yet  now  are  very  much 
reduced. 

MASSACRE  AT   SUDBUBY. 

The  next  raid  by  Philip's  returning  forces,  of 
much  importance,  was  upon  this  ancient  towr, 
April  18,  1676.  And  now,  as  the  tribes  had  come 


WADSWORTH'S  FORCES  SLAIN.  205 

in  from  Marlborough,  they  burned  down  several 
dwelling-houses  and  barns,  and  killed  ten  or  twelve 
of  the  English  soldiers  who  had  been  sent  in  from 
Concord,  and  who  had  been  ordered  to  head  off 
Philip,  and  protect  the  feeble,  unfortified  towns  that 
lay  open  and  exposed  to  his  terrible  encroachments 
on  the  way. 

To  the  same  end  soldiers  had  been  sent  from  Bos 
ton,  under  Capt.  Samuel  Wadsworth  of  Milton,  who, 
on  his  destination  to  Marlborough,  took  the  trail  of 
Philip,  and  followed  him  through  the  woods  to  Sud- 
bury.  Within  a  mile  of  the  town  he  discovered  a 
body  of  a  hundred  Indians,  who  fled  as  if  through 
fear,  drawing  the  eager,  incautious  English  into  a 
place  convenient  to  be  surrounded  by  five  hundred 
savages,  who  sprang  forth  and  destroyed  them.  The 
most  of  this  English  force  of  about  sixty  men  were 
slain  ;  but  a  few  of  them  were  left  alive  to  be  tor- 
tured. Capt.  Broclebank  and  Lieut.  Sharp,  who  had 
joined  Wadsworth  on  the  way,  also  fell  in  this  battle. 

In  1852  a  monument  was  erected  here  by  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  and  the  town  of  Sudbury,  at 
the  grave  of  the  heroes  of  that  bloody  battle  of 
long,  long  ago. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mary  Rowlandson  all 
this  time  had  been  a  captive  among  Philip's  forces. 
In  her  twentieth  chapter  and  in  her  fourteenth  month 
of  captivity  at  this  Sudbury  onset,  she  says, : — 


200  INDIAN   WAKS. 

"  It  was  their  usual  manner  to  remove  when  they  had  done 
any  mischief,  lest  they  should  be  found  out ;  and  so  they  did  at 
this  time.  We  went  about  three  or  four  miles  ;  and  there  they 
built  a  great  wigwam,  big  enough  to  hold  an  hundred  Indians ; 
which  they  did  in  preparation  to  a  great  day  of  dancing. 

"  They  would  now  say  among  themselves,  that  the  governor 
would  be  so  angry  for  his  /oxs  at  SUDBURY,  that  he  would  send 
no  more  about  the  captives,  which  made  me  grieve  and 
tremble." 

It  was  not  long  after  this,  however,  before  from 
the  authorities  a  proposition  came  for  her  redemp- 
tion ;  and  then  she  says,  — 

"  Philip  called  me  to  him,  asked  me  what  I  would  give  him 
to  tell  me  some  good  news  and  to  speak  a  good  word  for  me 
that  I  might  go  home  to-morrow. 

"I  told  him  I  could  not  tell  what  to  give  him,  and  asked 
him  what  he  would  have.  He  said,  <  Two  coats,  and  twenty 
shillings  in  money,  half  a  bushel  of  seed-corn,  and  some 
tobacco.'  I  thanked  him." 

Soon  this  lady  obtained  a  release,  and  returned 
home.  Afterwards  she  travelled  eastward  to  New- 
bury,  Portsmouth,  and  other  places ;  and  with  her  the 
husband  preached  on  the  way  ;  and  finally  they  ob- 
tained the  deliverance  of  their  son  and  daughter 
from  captivity. 

Yet,  sad  to  relate,  this  same  husband,  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Rowlandson,  in  1697  was  seized  and  mur- 
dered by  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

NEW  LONDON,   NOBWICH,   STONINGTON. 

The  Ten  Expeditions. — Two  Hundred  and  Twenty-nine  Indians 
taken  and  slain.  —  Thirty  killed  on  the  Retreat  from  Narragan- 
sett.  —  Seventy-six  slain  by  Dennison's  Force.  —  Invasion  of 
Scituate,  Bridyewater,  and  Taunton.  —  Expedition  to  Swansey.  — 
Assault  Tipon  Bridyewater.  —  Its  Neighborhood.  —  Invasion  of 
Groton. — Two  Eruptions. — Expeditions  there  from  Boston  and 
Watertown.  —  Strategy  in  their  Attack,  and  of  the  Black  Sheep. 
—  One-Eyed  John.  —  His  Threats.  —  His  Capture  and  Execution. 
— Indian  Spies.  — Attack  on  Northampton.  —Massachusetts  Colo- 
nial Expedition. —  Murder  on  the  Highway.  —  Expedition  from 
Sudbury.  —  Tribes  begin  to  relent  and  vanish.  — Depredations  in 
many  Places.  —  Wamesit  Indians  become  Hostile.  — Trespass  on 
Chelmsford  and  Wobum. — Invasion  of  Concord,  Mass. —Depre- 
dations at  Haverhill  and  Bradford.  —  Expedition  from  Boston.  — 
A  Surprise  on  a  Bear-Hunt.  — Skulking  Parties  Numerous.  — In- 
dians at  Wachusett  Hills.  — Expedition  from  Hadley,  Halfidd,  and 
Northampton. — Expedition  by  Twenty-five  Men  of  Hadley. — 
Henchman  at  Brookfield.  — Connecticut  Expedition.  — Another 
Assault  on  Hadley. — Tribes  incline  to  surrender. — Proclama- 
tion to  call  them  in.  —  Connecticut  Expedition.  —  Battle  at  War- 
wick Neck. 

N  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  learned 
how  Capt.  Dennison's  force  had  been  made 
up,  and  of  his  success  in  his  expedition ; 
and  now  we  come  to  a  time  when  the  inhab- 
itants of  New  London,  Norwich,  and  Ston- 
ington  voluntarily  enlisted  under  Major  Palmer, 


208  INDIAN   WARS. 

Capt.  Greo.  Dennison,  and  Capt.  Avery,  and  during 
the  year  1676  advanced,  first  and  last,  on  ten  expedi- 
tions against  the  tribes.  On  those  several  occasions 
they  killed  and  took  of  the  enemy  in  all  two  hundred 
and  twenty-nine.  In  this  they  were  assisted  by 
small  parties  from  the  Pequots,  Mohegans,  and  Nar- 
ragansetts. 

It  may  be  noted,  that  a  part  of  this  force,  on  the 
19th  of  December,  1675,  during  their  long  march 
after  the  fight  in  the  Narragansett  swamp,  took 
thirty  Indians ;  and  sixteen  others  with  fifty  guns  at 
other  times  not  above  reckoned. 

After  this  it  appears  Dennison's  force  killed  and 
took  seventy-six  Indians,  among  whom  were  two 
Narragansett  sachems,  and  at  the  same  time  obtained 
a  hundred  and  sixty  bushels  of  corn. 

Subsequent  to  this,  but  little  damage  was  done 
by  the  Indians  in  Plymouth  County,  except  in 
depredation,  upon  houses  and  barns. 

SCITUATE  AND   SWANSEY. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  fifty  Indians  burnt  nine- 
teen houses  and  barns  at  Scituate,  and  on  the  8th 
of  May  seventeen  houses  in  Bridgeiv ater ;  and 
four  of  the  inhabitants  of  Taunton  were  killed 
while  at  work  in  a  field. 

On  June  20,  1676,  an  order  from  Gov.  Winslow 


TISQUAGEN   AND  HIS   TRIBES.  209 

directed  the  raising  .of  twenty  men  well  armed,  and 
furnished  with  horses,  to  advance  immediately  to  the 
relief  of  Swansey.  Seventeen  were  sent  away  that 
night.  On  the  21st  they  were  further  directed  by 
Capt.  Bradford  to  advance  to  Bourne's  garrison 
twelve  miles  away,  to  assist  in  the  defend  of  the 
seventy  inmates  there.  Six  men  from  this  garrison, 
while  out  on  that  day  without  a  proper  military  pro- 
tective force,  were  slain.  On  the  following  week 
fifteen  of  the  force  above  named,  while  out  in  search 
of  horses,  discovering  a  party  of  Indians,  fired  at 
them;  but  they  escaped,  save  one  or  two,  after- 
wards found  dead. 

BBTDGEWATEB. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  Tisquagen,  with  three  hun- 
dred warriors,  made  an  assault  upon  Bridgewater, 
burnt  an  out-house  and  barn,  rifled  several  houses, 
and  committed  other  trespasses,  particularly  at  the 
east  end  of  the  town.  Another  invasion  was  after- 
wards made ;  and  thirteen  dwelling-houses  were  de- 
stroyed in  and  about  that  neighborhood ;  and  some 
barns  and  cattle  were  also  lost. 

Then,  on  the  18th  and  19th  of  July,  the  English 
sent  a  military  force  to  this  same  town,  —  to  fol- 
low in  pursuit  of  the  tribes  ;  and,  advancing,  they 
took  sixteen  of  them.  Some  of  the  Bay  Indians, 


210  INDIAN   WARS. 

under  Capt.  Brattle,  also  volunteered  in   the   pur- 
suit. 

The  conflicts  at  this  date  were  not  confined  to 
Plymouth  County.  They  extended  almost  every- 
where. Trouble  existed  in  the  midst  of  the  inland 
plantations,  as  well  as  all  along  the  sea-coast ;  and 
the  Colonies  were  at  work  by  forces  of  considerable 
strength  almost  everywhere,  in  defence  of  the  New- 
England  settlements. 

ATTACK   UPON  GROTON. 

The  town  of  Groton  being  invaded  on  the  2d  of 
March,  1676,  by  the  tribes  of  Philip,  the  news  of 
it  at  once  reached  Boston;  and  on  the  following 
day  Major  Wlllard  with  seventy  horsemen  ad- 
vanced from  there,  and  forty  foot-soldiers  from 
Watertown.  But  the  Indians,  having  burned  all  the 
houses  in  town  save  the  four  garrisons,  the  meeting- 
house among  the  rest  being  consumed,  had  all  made 
a  safe  retreat  to  parts  unknown. 

CAPT.   SELL  AT  GROTON. 

Capt.  Sill  was  also  sent  there  to  take  away  the 
inhabitants  of  Groton,  their  furniture,  &c. ;  for 
which  purpose  some  sixty  carts  were  used,  making  a 
trail  on  the  road,  of  some  two  miles  in  length. 

While  passing  they  were  fired  upon  by  the  In- 


GROTON  AND   CHELMSFORD.  211 

dians  in  an  ambush  from  the  front,  and  two  of  the 
men  were  killed ;  the  Indians  being,  as  was  sup- 
posed, a  part  of  the  same  gang  who  the  day  before 
had  burned  some  part  of  Chelmsford. 

Chelmsford,  being  soon  afterwards  deserted,  was 
destroyed  by  the  enemy. 

GROTON   AGAIN. 

This  town  was  surprised  as  follows :  — 

The  Indians  came  in  on  the  night  of  the  2d  of 
March,  rifled  seven  or  eight  houses,  and  carried  off 
some  cattle. 

On  the  9th,  about  ten  in  the  morning,  a  number 
of  Indians,  who  had  been  secretly  lurking  about 
there,  laid  an  ambush  for  two  teams  which  had  been 
driven  from  the  garrison  to  bring  in  some  hay ; 
they  were  attended  by  four  men,  two  of  whom  at 
sight  of  the  Indians  escaped.  The  other  two  being 
assailed,  the  one  was  killed,  and  left  in  a  naked, 
mangled  condition  ;  and  the  other  was  carried  away 
captive.  He,  however,  finally  escaped  from  them, 
and  found  shelter  in  the  garrison  at  Lancaster. 

Groton  was  again  assailed  by  four  hundred  In- 
dians on  the  13th  of  March,  1676.  The  town  had 
been  previously  startled  by  news  of  the  attack  upon 
Lancaster,  and  had  concentrated  its  inhabitants  into 
five  garrisons,  four  of  which  were  so  near  together 


212  INDIAN   WARS. 

as  to  afford  assistance  to  one  another ;  and  between 
these  the  cattle  were  kept  belonging  to  the  various 
families.  But  the  cattle  at  this  time  had  been  sent 
into  the  pastures,  perhaps  to  obtain  browse  from  the 
shrubbery. 

In  the  night-time  the  Indians  had  secreted  them- 
selves in  various  places.  Two  of  them  at  first  made 
their  appearance  near  one  of  the  garrisons.  The 
town  did  not  anticipate  such  an  advent.  The  day 
before  they  had  searched  the  wilderness  for  many 
miles,  finding  none,  and  now  were  engaged  in  their 
usual  business,  —  some  feeding  their  cattle,  some  pro- 
curing fire-wood,  and  others  doing  other  various 
things. 

At  sight  of  the  two  Indians  an  alarm  was  given ; 
at  which  the  men  came  forth  from  the  first  garrison, 
and  some  from  the  second,  which  were  eight  or  nine 
rods  apart,  and  started  in  pursuit  of  the  two  Indians, 
who  remained  stationary  in  the  distance.  But,  when 
our  men  reached  the  brow  of  a  hill,  the  Indians  from 
an  ambush  fired  upon,  and  routed  them.  One  was 
slain,  and  three  were  wounded. 

At  the  same  time  another  squad  had  risen,  and 
came  in  upon  the  back  side  of  one  of  the  garrisons 
so  deserted  of  men,  and  pulled  down  the  palisadoes. 
But  the  women  and  children  had  escaped  from  there 
to  the  stronger  garrison,  to  which  the  soldiers 


THREAT  ENINGS   OF  ONE-EYED  JOHN.  213 

also  retreated ;  which  left  the  first  garrison  to  the 
meiey  of  the  invaders,  who  consumed  the  most  of 
the  day  in  securing  the  spoils,  which  consisted  mostly 
of  corn  and  household  materials.  They  fired  upon 
the  other  garrison,  and  took  a  few  cattle. 

From  the  sound  of  the  first  volley,  smoke  ascended 
from  nearly  all  parts  of  the  town  at  once. 

In  the  afternoon  an  old  Indian  came  down  the 
street,  as  if  decrepit,  with  a  black  sheep  upon  his 
back.  They  made  shots  at  him  in  the  distance,  and 
sallied  forth  to  capture  him,  but,  discovering  an 
ambush,  retreated  ;  and  the  savage  and  his  black 
sheep  vanished  from  their  sight.  That  night  some 
of  them  remained  in  the  deserted  garrison,  others  in 
an  adjacent  valley,  making  the  night  hideous. 

ONE-EYED  JOHN. 

Next  morning  they  fired  two  or  three  volleys  at 
the  defended  garrison,  and  then  marched  off,  fearing 
perhaps  that  they  might  be  overtaken  by  a  strong 
force  from  abroad. 

About  forty  dwelling-houses  of  the  town  were 
burned  ;  and  the  head  of  the  man  slain  was  piked 
upon  a  pole,  as  well  as  the  heads  of  others  previously 
slain. 

Before  leaving  the  place,  ONE-EYED  JOHN,  who 
led  in  this  attack,  announced  his  threats  to  Capt 


214  INDIAN  WARS. 

Parker  then  in  the  garrison,  saying  they  had  burned 
Lancaster  and  Medfield,  and  that  next  time  they 
would  burn  Chelmsford,  Concord,  Watertown,  Cam- 
bridge, Charlestown,  Roxbury,  and  Boston  ;  adding  in 
his  own  dialect,  "  Wliat  me  will,  me  will  do." 

THE  RESULT. 

Notwithstanding  this  braggadocio,  the  sagamore  did 
not  live  to  see  his  purpose  entirely  fulfilled. 

Indeed,  it  was  not  long  before  these  fellows,  One- 
Eyed  John,  Sagamore  Sam,  and  old  Jethro,  were  all 
on  the  march  to  Boston,  with  halters  about  their 
necks,  to  be  hanged. 

Afterwards,  April  17,  Capt.  Sill  being  appointed 
to  keep  the  garrison  at  Groton,  some  Indians  coming 
there  and  drawing  near  to  the  house,  supposing  it  to 
have  been  deserted,  the  captain  fired  at  them,  killing 
three,  —  two  at  one  shot. 

INDIAN   SPIES. 

The  Colonists,  during  this  war  of  King  Philip, 
found  it  very  difficult  to  ascertain  the  precise  locali- 
ties of  Philip's  force.  Hence,  during  the  winter  of 
1675-6,  they  sent  two  Christian  Indians,  James  and 
Job,  through  the  woods  into  the  Nipmuck  and  Nar- 
ragansett  countries  as  spies ;  who  "  having  free 
liberty  of  discourse  with  them,"  and,  in  the  end  to 


EXPEDITION  LED  BY  MAJOR   SAVAGE.        215 

obtain  and  bring  information,   performed   at    least 
favorable  service  to  the  English. 

NORTHAMPTON. 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1676,  the  Indians  made  an 
assault  upon  Northampton,  and  broke  through  the 
fortification  of  palisadoes  set  up  around  it,  but  were 
repulsed  after  they  had  killed  four  men  and  two 
women,  and  destroyed  four  or  five  dwelling-houses. 

A  COLONIAL  EXPEDITION. 

In  the  beginning  of  March,  Major  Savage, 
commander  of  new  forces,  was  sent  out,  to  be  joined  by 
such  as  might  be  raised  by  the  Connecticut  Colony, 
with  instructions  to  search  for  Indians  at  and  about 
Wachusett  Hill.  But,  on  their  arrival  there,  the 
Indians  were  somewhere  else.  The  English,  how- 
ever, fell  in  with  a  few  stragglers,  slew  some, 
took  others,  to  the  number  of  sixteen,  and  then 
turned  back  to  the  relief  of  Hadley  and  North- 
ampton. 

MTJKDER   ON  THE  HIGHWAY. 

About  this  time,  March  26,  sabbath,  some  families 
at  Long  Meadow,  near  Springfield,  attending  church 
under  an  escort  of  soldiers,  on  their  return  home, 
riding  with  women  behind  them,  some,  with  children 
in  their  arms,  fell  in  the  rear  of  the  rest  of  the 


216  INDIAN   WARS. 

company,   and  were   fired   upon  from   an   ambush. 
Two  of  them  were  killed,  and  others  wounded. 

SUDBURY. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  town,  many  of  them  on 
the  27th  of  March,  1676,  started  for  the  woods  in 
the  night.  Towards  morning  they  discovered  the 
tribes,  three  hundred  of  them  lying  by  their  fires 
(within  half  a  mile  of  a  garrison-house),  upon  which 
forty  of  their  townsmen  fired  upon  them  several 
times,  wounded  thirty,  fourteen  of  which  died  then 
or  soon  afterwards. 

THEY   VANISH. 

After  this  the  tribes  began  to  scatter ;  yet  they 
were  in  fragment  parties.  We  hear  of  their  depreda- 
tions at  Weymouth  and  at  Billerica  (where  Timothy 
Farrer  was  killed),  at  Quaboag,  at  Braintree,  at 
Wrentham,  and  many  other  places  all  over  the  coun- 
try; yet  their  main  forces  were  lurking  in  the 
woods.  Some  of  them  were  between  the  towns  of 
Brookfield  and  Marlboro  ugh,  and  the  Connecticut 
River. 

They  killed  several  persons,  ten  or  twelve  resi- 
dents of  Concord,  Mass.,  who  had  marched  to  assist 
their  Sudbury  neighbors.  On  their  journey  back 
towards  the  garrison-house,  they  were  all  waylaid, 
killed,  or  taken. 


INVASIONS   BY  THE  WAMESITS.  £17 

Then  again  at  Plymouth  they  burned  eleven 
dwelling-houses  and  five  barns.  Our  scouting  parties, 
falling  in  upon  a  tribe  of  them,  killed  several ;  but 
within  a  few  days  seven  houses  and  two  barns  wero 
consumed  in  the  same  town. 

By  the  ill-advised  acts  of  some  of  the  English, 
"  another  sort  of  Indians  "  from  Wamesit  (Lowell) 
had  fired  guns  to  the  killing  of  some  and  wounding 
of  others  at  Chelmsford,  and  also  at  Woburn.  These, 
after  winter  was  over,  becoming  enemies,  set  fire  to 
Mr.  Falkner's  house  in  Andover,  wounded  one  Roger 
Marks,  and  killed  his  horse ;  and  at  Shawshine,  near 
it,  on  March  10,  burned  down  houses  ;  May  8,  killed 
one,  and  carried  away  captive  another,  sons  of 
George  Abbott ;  killed  some  cattle  on  their  way, 
cutting  out  their  tongues,  and  passing  away,  being 
shot  at  from  a  garrison.  Savages  visited  Thomas 
Fames  of  Sudbury,  killed  his  wife,  carried  away 
his  children,  leaving  his  house  in  ashes.  Two  men 
were  killed. 

CONCORD,   MASS. 

In  February,  1675,  two  boys,  Isaac  and  Jacob 
Eames  and  a  maid,  were  taken  captives. 

This  maid,  fifteen  years  of  age,  escaped  from  them ; 
and  in  the  May  following,  one  of  the  captive  boys, 
thirty  miles  through  the  woods  alone,  escaped,  and 


218  INDIAN   WARS. 

returned  home  upon  a  horse  which  the  Indians  had 
stolen  at  Lancaster. 

Also  at  Concord,  on  March  10,  two  men  were 
killed ;  and  on  March  18,  the  hostile  Indians,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  at 

WAMESIT, 

burned  down  three  or  four  houses  of  Edward 
Colburn ;  and  afterwards,  April  15,  about  forty  of 
them  pursuing  Colburn,  Samuel  Vamham  and 
sons,  shot  at  them,  killing  two  of  the  sons, 
and  at  the  same  time  burned  fourteen  dwelling- 
houses. 

On  May  3,  after  killing  a  man  at  Haverhill  on  the 
Merrimack,  a  party  of  them  crossed  over  to  Brad- 
ford, killed  Thomas  Kimball,  and  carried  away  his 
wife  and  five  children  into  captivity,  forty  miles  into 
the  woods. 

AN  EXPEDITION. 

To  suppress  these  deadly  eruptions,  on  April  27, 
1676,  the  government  at  Boston  started  several 
fresh  companies  of  soldiers,  and  sent  them  forth  to 
range  the  woods  under  the  command  of  Capts.  Sill, 
Cutter,  and  Holbrook.  The  horse  companies  were 
commanded  by  Capts.  Brattle,  Prentice,  and  Hench- 
man. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1676,  our  Natick  allied  scout 


PHILIP  TURNS  TOWARDS   PLYMOUTH.          219 

discovered  a  party  of  the  enemy,  who  were  pursuing 
a  bear,  and,  not  perceiving  the  scout  to  be  otherwise 
than  friends,  were  easily  pursued.  Our  horsemen 
fell  in  upon  them,  killing  and  taking  sixteen. 

It  was  charged,  that  the  untimely  sounding  of  a 
tnimpet  in  the  chase  operated  as  a  disadvantage  to 
the  English,  and  the  tribes  escaped. 

After  returning  to  their  headquarters  at  Medford, 
although  they  could  discover  their  fires  at  night  in 
great  numbers,  yet  the  tribes  had  become  too  far 
scattered  ever  afterwards  to  be  reached  in  any  con- 
siderable numbers.  English  soldiers  fell  sick,  and 
were  temporarily  dismissed  on  the  10th  of  May  of 
that  year. 

But  to  return.  The  great  body  of  Philip's  men  in 
the  early  spring,  as  we  have  seen,  tended  towards 
Plymouth  ;  yet  there  were  scattering  skulking  parties 
all  about. 

At  Rehoboth  a  party  went  out,  and  killed  ten  or 
twelve.  At  Springfield  Capt.  Holyoke  and  his  men 
entered  the  woods  with  ten  or  twelve  resolute  men, 
and  near  the  great  river  killed  three,  and  wounded 
another. 

Previously,  Oct.  5,  1675,  about  three  hundred 
Indians  made  an  attack  on  this  town,  killed  three 
men  and  one  woman,  and  reduced  to  ashes  thirty 
dwelling-houses  and  twenty-five  barns. 


220  INDIAN   WARS. 

On  the  beginning  of  April,  1676,  three  of  the 
Hadley  men,  at  work  under  a  guard  of  soldiers, 
Deacon  Goodman  being  one  of  them,  were  slain. 
Two  others,  who  had  ventured  to  wander  away  from 
the  guard,  were  also  killed. 

The  largest  company  of  Indians  in  this  neighbor- 
hood were  now  in  and  about  Wachusett  Hills.  They 
had  been  disappointed  of  their  corn  in  the  loss  of 
Canonchet :  yet  they  were  now  taking  advantage  of 
the  fishing-season. 

HADLEY,   HATFIELD,   NORTHAMPTON. 

These  towns  now  unite  in  revenge  for  the  loss  of 
life,  of  houses,  and  cattle,  and,  to  rid  the  country  of 
its  common  enemy,  May  18,  1676,  raised  a  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  marched  silently  at  dead  of  night, 
surprised  the  drowsy  tribes  at  their  wigwams  in  the 
woods. 

Arriving  there,  they  dismounted,  fired  into  their 
wigwams,  frightened  them  (killing  some),  drove 
others  into  the  stream,  by  which  many  of  them  were 
borne  down  over  the  fall  with  the  current,  some 
perishing  in  the  waters ;  others,  hugging  the  shore, 
were  killed  there;  and  some,  seeking  the  canoes, 
being  shot  or  overset  in  the  stream,  sunk,  and  slept 
their  last  sleep.  Capt.  Holyoke  killed  five,  young 
and  old,  with  his  own  hand. 


HENCHMAN   AT   BROOKFIELD.  221 

At  the  onset  upon  them,  the  Indians  exclaimed, 
"  Mohawks  !  THE  MOHAWKS  !  "  Their  slain  were 
nearly  three  hundred. 

But  the  tribes,  rallying  after  them  on  their  retreat, 
fell  upon  their  horse-guards,  fired  upon  them  in  the 
rear ;  so  that,  on  their  return,  thirty-eight  men  were 
missing.  Holyoke's  horse  was  killed.  He  was  a 
valiant  leader. 

HADLEY'S  TWENTY-FIVE  YOUNG  MEN. 

These  came  forth  JVfay  30,  1676,  crossed  the 
river,  and  down  upon  a  tribe  which  had  been  attack- 
ing their  garrison,  burning  houses,  and  killing  and 
driving  away  their  cattle  and  sheep  in  large  num- 
bers ;  fired  upon  them,  killing  five  or  six  on  their 
flight  far  away. 

This  same  force  by  the  council  at  Boston  was 
rallied  again,  with  instructions  to  drive  out  the 
enemy  from  their  fishing-places,  from  the  woods,  and 
from  the  plantations. 

And  then,  on  May  30,  1676,  Henchman  leading, 
advanced  to  Brookfield,  intending  to  join  others 
from  the  Hartford  Colony,  with  Tom  Doublet  to 
trace  out  the  Indian  trails,  overtook  the  enemy 
fishing  in  Weshacom  Ponds,  killed  seven,  and  cap- 
tured twenty-nine,  mostly  women  and  children. 
Previously,  at  Northfield,  September,  1675,  "Nine 


222  INDIAN   WARS. 

or  ten  persons  were  killed  in  the  woods  ;  and,  on 
the  day  following  this  massacre,  Capt.  Richard 
Beers  of  Watertown,  with  thirty-six  men,  fell  into 
an  ambuscade,  and  several  of  them  were  slain. 
Retreating  to  Beers's  Mountain,  fought  on  the  way ; 
and  only  sixteen  of  Beers's  company  escaped.  The 
conflict  was  severe.  The  heads  of  some  of  the 
English  dead  were  elevated  on  poles :  one  of  them 
was  suspended  by  a  chain  from  the  limb  of  a 
tree.  The  fort  there  and  the  houses  were  de- 
stroyed." 

BATTLE  AT  PAWTUCKET. 

On  Sunday,  the  26th  of  March,  1676,  a  battle 
was  fought  by  Capt.  Pierce  and  his  seventy  men, 
twenty  of  whom  were  Indians.  They  fell  in  with  the 
tribes  at  Pawtucket  River,  near  Pawtucket  Falls. 
The  Indians  led  by  Nanuntenoo  decoyed  them  into 
an  ambuscade,  and  surrounded  them  with  a  force 
of  three  hundred.  Pierce  and  fifty-seven  of  his  men 
were  slain.  The  Indian  loss  was  estimated  at  a 
hundred  and  forty. 

NORTHFIELD    (SQUAKEAG). 

As  it  happened,  Henchman  did  not  meet  the  Hart- 
ford force  until  a  week  afterwards,  who  joined  him 
at  Hadley.  The  two  forces  then  advanced  towards 
Squakeag,  arrived  at  Deerfield,  encountered  a  severe 


TRIBES    IN   MOTION.  223 

storm,  damaging  their  ammunition ;  yet  seized  and 
secured  many  stolen  goods,  and  a  quantity  of  fish 
from  the  enemy ;  found  some  places  where  depreda- 
tions and  murders  had  been  committed  ;  but  from 
thence,  supposing  the  tribes  to  have  gone  towards 
Plymouth,  they  returned  home. 

CAPT.    HENCHMAN   SAYS: 

"  Our  scouts  brought  intelligence  that  the  Indians  were  in 
continual  motion,  some  towards  Narragansett,  some  towards 
Wachusett,  lying  not  above  one  night  in  a  place.  The 
twenty-seven  scouts  brought  in  two  squaws,  a  boy,  and  a  girl, 
giving  an  account  of  five  slain.  Yesterday  they  brought  in  an 
old  fellow,  brother  of  a  sachem,  six  squaws,  and  children, 
having  killed  five  men  and  wounded  others.  Eleven  persons 
we  had  in  all,  two  of  whom  by  council  we  put  to  death." 

DEDHAM  AND  SEACONK. 

On  their  return,  this  force  was  ordered  from  Sud- 
bury  by  the  governor  of  Plymouth  to  Dedham,  and 
so  to  Seakonk  (Rehoboth),  to  join  Bradford  in  pur- 
suit of  Philip,  who,  with  his  many  hundreds,  was 
besetting  the  plantations  in  that  neighborhood, 
and  whither,  not  long  before,  u  Capt.  Brattle 
with  a  troop  of  horse,  and  Capt.  Mosely  with 
a  company  of  foot,  were  sent  up  from  Boston  to 
pursue  them,  now  flocking  in  great  numbers  for  the 
woods." 


224  INDIAN  WARS. 

Here  Hezekiah  Willet  of  Swansey  had  been  bar- 
barously slain ;  and  to  these  forces  at  their  arrival  a 
negro  slave,  escaping  from  their  captivity,  reported 
that  Philip  was  preparing  to  attack  Taunton,  and 
that  his  army  had  slain  twenty  cattle  over  night, 
and  that  nothing  was  left  of  them  in  the  morn- 
ing. 

Next,  Major  Talcot,  advancing  to  meet  our  forces 
at  Quaboag  (Brookfield),  as  they  came  there  from 
Norwich,  surprised  a  gang  of  Indians,  took  fifty- 
one,  nineteen  being  slain.  Two  other  expeditions 
volunteered  from  New  London,  Stonington,  and 
Norwich,  having  been  left  to  guard  that  locality. 
The  one  under  Talcot  disposed  of  about  thirty  of 
the  enemy,  the  most  of  whom  were  slain. 

The  other  force  killed  and  took  forty-five,  mostly 
women  and  children ;  yet  (as  the  minister  had  it) 
they  were  " serpents  of  the  same  brood" 

HADLEY  (POCUNTUCK). 

The  next  day  the  Indians  assaulted  Hadley  with 
seven  hundred  warriors,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. But  the  Connecticut  forces,  made  up  of  * 
English,  Pequots,  Mohegans,  and  other  friendly 
Indians,  five  hundred  in  all,  being  quartered  near, 
were  soon  on  hand.  The  Indians,  leaving  the  town, 
had  set  it  on  fire.  They  fired,  and  killed  three  of 
the  English,  but  made  their  escape. 


ENGLISH   PROPOSE  TERMS.  225 

The  29th  of  July,  1676,  was  observed  as  a  day  of 
thanksgiving.  A  body  of  Indians  had  been  lurking 
about  the  Connecticut  all  the  spring,  suffering  for 
food  and  of  diseases ;  and,  discouraged  at  losses, 
began  to  fall  out  with  Philip,  and  resolved  that  the 
tribes  might  separate,  and  desired  to  return  to  their 
several  homes ;  and  that  Philip  and  the  Narragan- 
setts  might  do  the  same.  The  Nipmucks  and  River 
Indians  beat  westward;  others  northward,  towards 
Penac6ok  on  the  Merrimack ;  and  Philip's  crew  and 
the  Narragansetts  were  left  to  drift  in  another  direc- 
tion, amid  the  swamps  towards  Mount  Hope. 

The  tribes,  in  sight  of  events  as  of  late  they  had 
drifted,  began  to  despair  at  the  impending  fate  of 
their  race  and  of  themselves. 

The  government  at  Boston,  understanding  this 
matter,  published  a 

DECLARATION. 

;*  That  whatsoever  Indians  should,  within  fourteen 
days  next  ensuing,  come  in  to  the  English,  might 
hope  for  mercy" 

Thereupon  James  the  printer  came  in,  affirming, 
with  others  who  came  with  him,  that  more  of  his 
race  had  died  since  the  war  by  diseases  than  by  the 
sword.  And  soon  two  hundred  more  came  in. 


226  INDIAN   WARS. 

SQUAW   SACHEM   OF   SEACONET. 

This  squaw,  allied  to  Philip  as  she  had  been,  sent 
three  messengers  to  the  governor  of  Plymouth,  su- 
ing for  life  and  liberty,  promising  submission  us 
above ;  but,  before  her  messengers  returned,  the 
English  troops  came  upon  her.  She  submitted  her- 
self to  Major  Bradford,  together  with  her  ninety 
followers  ;  and  then,  recklessly  and  without  mercy, 
they  were  all  murdered. 

CONNECTICUT  FORCES   AT  WARWICK  NECK. 

These,  under  Major  Talcot  and  Capts.  Dennison 
and  Newbury,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1676,  pursuing 
Philip,  discovered  a  large  force  near  Mount  Hope  in 
a  swamp.  They  divided  their  forces  in  three  divis- 
ions, and  made  a  charge  with  Englishmen  and  In- 
dians on  all  sides  of  the  fort  at  once,  by  which  all 
the  tribes  were  either  killed  or  put  to  flight.  A 
hundred  were  killed  at  the  outset,  and  the  fugitives 
by  both  horse  and  foot,  until  the  whole  were  either 
slain  or  taken  prisoners.  Two  or  three  of  the  Mo- 
hegans  and  Pequots  were  wounded:  none  of  the 
English  were  injured  in  the  slaughter  and  capture  of 
nearly  three  thousand  savages,  young  and  old. 

Among  these  was  the  old  squaw  of  Narragansett, 
commonly  called  the  Old  Queen. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TRIBES   IN  TROUBLE. 

War  and  Winter  weakens  them.  —  They  murmur   iu  Despa'r  — 
Treachery  of  their  own  Race.  — They  begin  to  distrust  Philip. 

—  Incline  to  abandon  his  Cause. — Two  Hundred  surrender.— 
Three  Hundred  led  by  Six  Sachems  come  in.  —  Capts.  Mosely,  Bat- 
tles, and  Bradford  Forces  advance  towards  Mount  Hope.  —  Philip 
escapes  to  Pocasset. — A  Chief  Sachem  surrenders  with  Forty 
Attendants.  —  Also  Sagamore  John  with  a  Hundred  and  Eighty.  — 
Philip  is  slain. — Garrison-Houses. — An  Epic.  —  An  Expedition 
to  Pasco  Bay.  —  Depredations  and  Murders  along  the  Piscataqua. 

—  An  Attack  on  the  Upper  Garrison  at  Salmon  Falls.— Major 
Waldron  sends  a  Team  and  Twenty  Men  to  obtain  the  Dead.  — 
The  Men  are  attacked  from  an  Ambush.  —  Capt.  Plaisted  killed. 

—  Attacks  at   Kittery,   Cocheco,  and   other    Places. — Number 
slain. 

HE  winter  of  1675-76  had  fallen  heavily 
upon  them.  From  Mount  Hope,  Philip's 
main  force  had  been  routed,  but  with  ter- 
rible loss  to  the  English,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  cold  storms.  Since  then,  the 
slaughter  which  his  tribes  had  shared ;  their  constant 
exposures  to  the  inclemencies  of  winter,  by  the  change 
of  place  from  day  to  day,  with  their  wives  and  little 
ones ;  and  the  devastating  inroads  which  dire  disease 
had  made  upon  them, — overwhelmed  their  hearts 
with  crashing  despair  and  discontent. 

227 


228  INDIAN   WARS. 

And  now,  in  early  spring,  their  remnant  tribes,  as 
they  perceived,  were  being  beset  with  crushing  forces 
not  only  by  the  English,  but,  most  wicked  of  all,  by 
the  treachery  from  tribes  of  their  own  ancient  race, 
to  wit,  the  faithless  Pequots,  Mohegans,  and  others. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  hand  of  fate  is  now 
"  seen  writing  upon  the  wall "  this  awful  result,  — 
that  Philip's  last  great  battle  for  the  native  freedom 
of  an  ancient  race  of  red  men  had  been  fought,  and 
is  already  lost ;  that  Philip  himself  is  to  die  speedily  ; 
that  his  tribes,  many  more  of  them,  are  yet  to  perish 
by  the  sword;  that  the  others  are  to  be  driven  be- 
yond the  deep  seas,  or  farther  and  farther  into  the 
dark  wilderness,  there  to  be  lost  and  forgotten. 

In  sight  of  all  this,  no  wonder  that  Philip's  war- 
riors, for  the  sake  of  their  women  and  children  at 
least,  should  begin  to  throw  down  their  weapons  of 
war,  and  submit,  however  ingloriously,  to  the  terms 
proposed  by  their  faithless  foes. 

Next,  then,  two  hundred  of  them,  from  within  the 
Plymouth  jurisdiction,  through  famine  and  fear  came 
in,  and  submitted  themselves  to  the  government  there ; 
some  of  whom,  to  obtain  favor,  were,  as  induced, 
turned  about,  and  were  made  to  co-operate  against 
Philip  and  his  then  trembling  tribes. 

And  then  five  or  six  sachems  from  Cape  Cod,  with 
three  hundred  Indian  attendants,  came  in  and  sur- 
rendered. 


PHILIP  PURSUED,   ESCAPES.  229 

On  the  next  day,  July  7,  1676,  the  English  with 
some  Christian  Indians,  invading  the  woods  not  far 
from  Dedham,  killed  seven,  one  of  whom  was  a  Nar- 
ragansett  sachem. 

News  then  came  that  some  of  the  Indians  had  fled 
to  Albany,  N.Y.,  and  were  obtaining  ammunition 
there,  on  the  pretext  that  Philip's  war  had  come  to 
an  end. 

On  the  llth  of  July,  Philip's  whole  remaining 
force  made  an  attempt  to  destroy  Taunton ;  but  the 
plot,  being  seasonably  discovered,  was  defeated. 
After  the  firing  of  two  houses  they  were  repulsed, 
and  fled. 

Up  to  the  22d  of  July,  Capts.  Mosely,  Battles, 
and  Bradford,  operating  from  Concord,  Mass.,  in  and 
around  the  swamps  of  Mount  Hope,  had  slain  and 
taken  of  their  enemies  about  a  hundred  and  fifty. 

It  was  feared  Philip  would  now  return  to  the  Nip- 
mucK  country ;  and  English  horsemen  were  sent  to 
guard  the  passage  thither,  as  it  led  out  from  Mount 
Hope.  They  followed  him  into  the  swamps,  often- 
times lodged  near  to  him ;  always  a  little  too  late, 
yet  sometimes  found  his  camp-fires  yet  burning,  his 
kettles  still  boiling  over  them,  and  his  dead  from 
sickness  and  war  still  unburied. 

Philip,  at  length,  with  his  followers  much  reduced, 
by  means  of  a  raft  made  his  escape  from  the  Meta- 


230  INDIAN  WARS. 

poiset  woods,  over  an  arm  of  the  sea  on  to  another 
neck  of  land  on  the  Pocasset  side. 

Capt.  Church,  commander  of  the  Plymouth  Colony, 
with  eighteen  Englishmen  and  twenty-two  Indians, 
had  long  been  on  the  chase  of  Philip,  during  which 
time  he  had  slain  seventy-six  men  from  the  faltering 
followers  of  Philip. 

Philip's  squaw  was  afterwards  taken,  one  of  his 
chief  councillors  also. 

A  chief  sachem  at  Pocasset,  and  forty  Indians,  came 
in  also,  seeking  life  and  liberty. 

Other  Indians  heard  of  near  Dedham,  as  being 
nearly  in  a  state  of  starvation,  were  pursued  by 
twenty-six  of  the  English,  and  nine  or  ten  Christian 
Indians,  who  took  fifty  prisoners  without  loss  to  the 
English,  together  with  great  quantities  of  wampum 
and  powder;  and  they  slew  Pomham,  one  of  the 
most  valiant  sachems  of  the  ten  commanders  of  the 
Narragansetts. 

SAGAMORE  JOHN. 

This  sachem,  July  27,  came  in  before  the  council 
at  Boston,  bringing  with  him  a  hundred  and  eighty 
warriors,  their  wives  and  children,  all  of  whom  sur- 
rendered. 

On  the  31st  of  July  a  party  went  forth  from 
Bridgewater  in  search  for  Philip  and  his  followers, 


PHILIP'S   SQUAW-SACHEM,   DROWNED.         231 

and,  coming  near,  killed  some  of  them,  among  whom 
was  Philip's  uncle,  who,  standing  by  his  side,  was 
shot  down ;  but  Philip  escaped,  having  previously 
shaved  his  hair  off  so  as  not  to  be  known. 

On  the  6th  of  August,  twenty  volunteers,  led  by  an 
Indian  fresh  from  Philip,  seized  the  whole  party  of 
twenty-six  Indians  except  the  squaw  sachem,  who 
escaped  from  them,  but  jumping  into  the  river  was 
drowned.  It  is  a  shameful  truth,  they  cut  off  her 
head,  and  set  it  upon  a  pole  in  Taunton,  at  the  sight 
of  which  the  dusky  prisoners,  as  they  passed,  were 
overwhelmed  with  grief,  and  passed  on  with  wail- 
ings  and  heart-rending  despair. 

An  Indian  now  came  in,  who,  reporting  Philip  as 
having  returned  to  Mount  Hope,  offered  to  pilot 
any  force  that  would  undertake  to  follow  him.  And 
then  a  company  led  by  Capt.  Church,  part  English 
and  part  Indians,  advancing  to  the  great  swamp 
and  surrounding  it,  Philip  was  discovered  passing 
out  from  it.  Church  aimed  to  shoot  him,  but  the 
gun  missed  fire :  thereupon  Alderman  Seaconet,  an 
Indian  of  his  own  nation,  at  the  same  moment,  being 
with  Church,  fired  ;  and  Philip  fell  dead,  shot  through 
the  heart.  On  the  same  day,  Aug.  12,  1676,  five  of 
his  strong  men  fell  also.  And  here  ended  forevei 
the  last  great  struggle  that  foreshadowed  the  final 
fate  of  the  red  man  on  this  continent. 


232  INDIAN   WARS. 

Let  us  turn,  that  we  may  glance  for  moment  at 
the  landscape.  New  England  even  now  is  but  little 
else  than  a  wilderness.  That  wilderness  is  still  in- 
habited by  remnant,  distracted  tribes ;  some  at  pres- 
ent peaceful,  some  hostile,  afflicted  of  painful  scars, 
disease,  and  death  ;  and  some  of  these  seeking  refuge 
within  the  lines  of  neutral  tribes ;  and  some  wander- 
ing afar  off  in  quest  of  life  and  liberty  in  the  far 
distance.  Yet  every  wigwam  in  the  woods,  as  well 
as  every  lonely  cot,  house,  or  hamlet  in  New  Eng- 
land, is  doomed  to  dread  fear  and  consternation.  At 
noonday,  at  midnight,  consternation  is  now  entailed 
upon  all  the  generations  of  New  England  for  the 
seventy  tardy  years  now  next  to  come.  Philip  is 
dead :  but  the  embers  in  his  ashes  are  still  burning ; 
and  the  war  between  the  two  races,  under  their  sur- 
roundings, as  a  matter  of  course,  could  never  die 
out  but  in  the  destruction  or  exit  of  the  one  or  the 
other.  Dread  fear  pervaded  all.  Garrison-houses 
were  then  standing  in  all  the  hamlets,  and  even  in  the 
more  scattered  neighborhoods.  They  must  neces- 
sarily abound  in  New  England,  must  remain ;  and  they 
did  remain. 

Even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  two  hundred  years, 
some  of  those  old  structures,  made  mostly  of  logs. 
erected  during  the  Indian  wars,  may  be  traced 
They  ought  to  be  preserved  forever.  One  of  those 


Deserted  ncrw  -within  •without. 

Alone   aloof,  upon  a  hill. 
And  rumor  rife  hath  come   about 
That  in  those  port-holes   look: 

The  midmgli'         •   •  j era   still. 


HOUSES   OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  233 

garrisons,  with  its  terrible  lessons,  stood  near  the 
home  of  my  boyhood.  Not  many  years  since,  pass- 
ing that  way,  I  visited  it  at  eve.  It  then  appeared 
as  in  the  engraving. 

THE  OLD  GARRISON-HOUSE. 

TALK  WITH  A  GHOST, 

At  my  native  Barrington,  N.H.,  Saturday  Eve^ 
Oct.  20,  1866. 

THEY'RE  sacred  now,  —  these  walls  of  wood. 

Ah !  what  can  bear  comparison;' 
From  age  to  age  they've  nobly  stood : 
They've  braved  the  conflict,  storm,  and  flood, 

Of  the  olden  time  a  garrison. 

Deserted  now  within,  without ; 

Alone,  aloof,  upon  a  hill ; 
And  rumor  rife  hath  come  about, 
That,  "  in  those  port-holes  looking  out, 

The  midnight  spectre  lingers  still." 

And  now,  ye  ghosts,  if  ghost  there  be, 
Speak  !  speak,  and  tell  us  of  the  strife, 

When  you  had  life  and  limbs  as  we ; 

When  panting  Pilgrims  had  to  flee 
The  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife ; 


234  INDIAN  WARS. 

When,  in  that  boundless  forest  wild, 
At  sound  of  war-whoop  from  afar, 
How  anxious  up  and  down  ye  filed, 
And  hewed  the  logs,  and  upward  piled 
This  fortress  rude  ;  how,  in  dread  war,  — 

At  humble  huts  far  scattered  wide, 

To  toil  ye  gave  the  wear}-  day, 
Then,  driven  here  at  eventide, 
The  child  and  mother  side  by  side, 

Fast  winding  through  the  thorny  way. 

Unheeded  then  the  beasts  of  prey ; 

The  p  :owl  of  wolf  no  terrors  brought, 
Nor  rancorous  reptiles  in  the  way : 
The  Pilgrim  heart  knew  no  dismay 

Save  what  the  knife  and  fagot  taught. 

Within  these  doors,  then  bolted  fast, 

Say,  what  of  dreams  ?    Pray  speak,  and  tell 
How  oft,  amid  the  tempest  blast, 
Ye  heard  the  rattling  arrows  cast, 
The  midnight  gun,  the  savage  yell. 

What  tearful  thought,  and  what  the  care, 

That  moved  the  matrons  and  the  men 
To  hug  sweet  infants  cradled  there, 
To  guard  the  household,  and  to  share 
The  dangers  dread  impending  then. 


TALK  AT   A  GARRISON.  235 

And  what,  when  tedious  years  had  passed, 
To  mourn  thy  many  kindred  slain ; 

Here  then,  at  peace,  3-6  lived  at  last ; 

Yet  did  the  sands  of  life  fall  fast, 
And  dust  to  dust  return  again. 

How  then  the  spirit  wafted  high 

From  lifeless  nature  'neath  the  ground : 
Then  from  the  portals  of  the  sky, 
'Mid  clouds  of  night,  —  oh  !  tell  us  why 
In  this  old  fort  ye  still  are  found? 

Whence  are  thy  jo}Ts  eternal  bright  ?  — 

As  if  ye  had  no  faltering  fear, 
No  sad  bereavements,  pain  nor  blight 
Nor  care,  to  cramp  that  calm  delight 

Foretold  of  faith  in  such  career. 

Ye've  seen  the  tribes  that  roamed  of  yore 

From  Lovwell's  Lake  to  the  Falls  of  Berwick, 
Or  down  Cocheco's  woodland  shore 
Where  Wat-clie-no-lt  l  dipped  his  oar, 
At  Dover  old,  or  Squanomegonic. 

Since  then,  as  now,  to  the  market  town, 

From  the  hills  afar,  yet  blue  and  bland, 
'Mid  summer's  heat  or  winter's  frown, 
How  settlers  teamed  their  treasures  down, 
Proud  in  the  products  of  the  land. 

NOTE  1.    Wat-che-no-it  was  one  of  the  chiefs  who  conveyed  laud- 
titles  in  New  Hampshire. 


236  INDIAN   WARS. 

Their  footprints  firm  are  on  the  plain 

'Mid  blighting  frost  or  blooming  health, 
Where  varied  life  of  joy  and  pain 
Hath  learned  of  Mother  Earth  how  vain 
Is  pride  or  fame  or  sordid  wealth. 

Then,  tell  me  true,  if  well  ye  may, — 

Since  tribe  and  pilgrim  hither  met,  — 
How  generations  lived  their  day, 
How  each  in  turn  have  passed  away, 
But  where  —  oh  !  where  —  untold  as  yet. 

Of  all  that  host  some  knowledge  lend, 

That  from  the  world  the  years  have  hurried : 

Say,  what  of  Waldron? —  what  bis  end? 

Old  "  Mi-an-to-ni-mo  " 2  his  friend, 

And  "  Mossup,  8  slain  yet  kindly  buried." 

Say  if,  amid  that  spiiit-sphere, 
Ye  have  full  knowledge  freely  given, 

Why  thus  withhold  from  mortals  here 

The  glories  grand,  forever  dear 
To  thee  and  thine,  of  death  and  heaven? 


Mi-an-to-ni-ino  was  a  chief,  said  to  have  been  friendly, 
tall,  and  cunning. 

NOTE  3.  Mossup,  a  brother  of  Mi-an-to  ni-ino,  was  killed  by  the 
Mohawks,  about  twenty  miles  aUbve  the  Piscataqua,  and  was  bur- 
ied by  Major  Waldron. 


THE  EEPLY.  237 

The  spectre,  listening,  seemed  to  move, 

Half  hidden  still  within  the  wall ; 
In  garb  of  light  and  looks  of  love, 
With  cadence  strange,  as  from  above, 

Made  answer  thus,  the  one  for  all :  — 

"  Why  thus  should  men  make  search  to  know 

Their  final  fate  forever  hidden  ? 
Beyond  the  world  of  weal  and  woe 
Your  vision  finite  ne'er  can  go. 

Enough  for  man  it  is  forbidden. 

"  What  truth  in  Abraham  ye  trace, 

And  what  of  Israel's  tribes  are  told, 
What  Banyan  wrote  of  the  pilgrim  race, 
Ye  well  may  know,  and  grow  in  grace. 
As  the  fathers  faithful  did  of  old. 

*'  Enough !  and  why  should  we  disclose 

The  purpose  grand  ordained  above, 
Betraj7  the  trust  that  Heaven  bestows, 
And  tempt  the  world  from  calm  repose, 

Its  tranquil  life,  and  truthful  love? 

"  Then  banish  care  !     Earth  can  but  see, 

Far  in  the  cloud,  a  guardian  hand ; 
Nor  heed  the  storm,  alike  as  we, 
True  mariners  upon  the  sea : 

Ye'll  find  the  pilgrim's  promised  land." 


238  INDIAN  WARS. 

The  night-damp  dark  in  curtains  fell ; 

Hushed  were  the  hills  and  valleys  green : 
I  bent  my  footstep  down  the  dell ; 
A  voice  there  whispered,  "  All  is  well ;" 

And  nothing  more  was  said  or  seen. 

JOHN. 

In  the  winter  which  followed  the  downfall  of 
Philip,  under  the  Boston  proclamation  previously 
made,  JOHN,  a  Nipmuck  sachem,  with  many  others, 
came  in,  and  were  protected  of  their  lives ;  and 
Hubbard,  who  lived  and  wrote  at  that  day,  says,  — 

"  Yet  did  that  treacherous  villain  make  an  escape  this  winter  from 
Capl.  Prentice's  house,  under  whose  charge  he  was  put  about  Cam- 
bridge village,  and  with  twenty  morejled  away  into  the  woods  to  shift 
for  himself,  with  the  rest  of  his  bloody  companions.  They  were  pur- 
sued, but  had  gone  too  fast  and  too  far  to  be  overtaken" 

EFFICACY  OF  PRAYER. 

Mr.  Hubbard,  who  was  a  clergyman  as  well  as 
historian,  now  at  this  date  complaining  of  the  pagan 
propensities  of  UNCAS,  the  Mohegan  chief,  says  sub- 
stantially that  Parson  "  Fiske  of  Norwich,"  in  the 
terrible  drought  of  that  summer,  had  prayed  con- 
stantly and  fervently  for  rain,  but  in  vain  ;  that  the 
English  were  left  to  pray  "  without  any  motion  from 
the  Indians ; "  and  that  the  drought  long  remained 


CONFLICTS  BECOME  GENERAL.  239 

upon  them ;  but  that  at  length,  by  reason  of  dearth, 
Uncas  and  his  tribes  were  induced  to  come  in  and 
join  in  the  prayers,  at  which  dense  clouds  at  once 
covered  the  earth  ;  a  rain-storm  followed  ;  and  that 
"  the  river  rose  more  than  two  feet  in  height  that 
night." 

FIEST  PLANTATIONS. 

The  first  place  taken  and  possessed  in  the  East  as 
a  plantation  was  on  the  Sagadahock  (Kennebeck) ; 
and  in  that  neighborhood  there  was  no  serious 
trouble  with  the  tribes  until  Philip's  war  ;  and  even 
then  the  principal  mischief  was  made  by  the  Andros- 
coggins.  But  westward  of  that  locality,  at  Stur- 
geon Creek,  at  Salmon  Falls,  Cocheco  (Dover),  at 
Greenland,  Lampre  River,  Exeter,  and  Swamscot, 
plantations  were  early  commenced ;  and  all  of  them 
suffered  in  1675-6,  and  more  or  less  during  most  of 
the  Indian  wars.  In  the  East,  some  of  the  planta- 
tions were  commenced  as  early  as  1606,  contempora- 
neously with  the  like  commencements  in  Virginia. 

At  the  inception  of  Philip's  war,  the  Indians  all 
through  New  England  had  been  aroused ;  and  in  the 
East,  although  they  had  been  peaceful  from  the  be- 
ginning, they  began  to  see  force  and  justice  in  Philip's 
cause.  And  the  tribes  at  Casco  and  Androscoggin,  at 
Piscataqua,  at  Wamesit,  being  pinched  with  hunger 
and  cold,  had  during  the  first  winter  risen  against  the 


240  INDIAN   WARS. 

English,  y  3t  in  the  early  spring  and  summer  returned 
apparent^  to  their  good  faith,  and  delivered  up  theii 
English  prisoners ;  yet  in  many  instances,  as  in  the 
case  of  Simon  and  Andrew  in  their  violence  at  Brad- 
ford and  Haverhill,  returned  their  prisoners  to  Major 
Waldron  at  Dover,  but  soon  afterwards  joined  the 
Kennebecks  and  Androscoggins  in  committing  mur- 
ders in  that  region. 

By  reason  of  these  general  uprisings,  a  meeting 
was  held  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Pattishals  near  the 
Kennebeck ;  and  an  expedition  was  sent  up  that  river 
to  test  the  fidelity  of  the  Indians.  They  succeeded 
in  obtaining  some  arms  and  ammunition,  and  a 
promise  of  beaver-skins;  the  Indians,  at  the  time, 
yielded  to  them  for  the  sake  of  peace.  Upon  the 
condition  if  they  cause  no  eruption,  their  arms,  &c., 
were  to  be  returned  to  them. 

Robinhood  then  invited  the  tribes  to  a  great  dance, 
and  sung  songs  attended  with  great  applause,  to 
evince  a  lively  determination  on  their  part  to  fulfil 
their  agreement  to  keep  the  peace ;  yet  many 
of  them  broke  their  covenants  with  the  English,  to 
their  own  injury  as  well  as  to  that  of  their  enemies. 
They  at  first  assaulted  the  house  of  Mr.  Purchase, 
took  his  liquor  and  ammunition,  killed  calves  and 
sheep ;  but  contented  themselves,  for  the  most  part, 
with  what  they  could  eat  and  carry  away. 


DEPREDATIONS   CONTINUE.  241 

Thereupon  twenty-five  Englishmen  passed  up 
Casco  Bay  in  a  sloop  and  two  boats,  to  obtain  Indian 
corn  ;  and  near  Androscoggin  River,  they  heard  a 
knocking  in  and  about  the  houses,  and  saw  two 
Indians,  who  took  towards  the  water.  The  Eng- 
lish in  pursuit  killed  one:  the  other  escaped  in  a 
canoe. 

CASCO. 

And  then  at  Casco  Bay  a  tribe  entered  the  house 
of  Mr.  Wakely,  murdered  him,  his  wife,  his  son,  and 
daughter-in-law,  and  her  three  children. 

Soon  after,  Sept.  18,  1676,  the  houses  of  Capt. 
Bonithon  and  Major  Phelps  were  assaulted  by  about 
forty  Indians,  the  one  on  the  east  and  the  other  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Saco  River,  and  were  set  on 
fire  ;  but  the  English  rallied  upon  them,  shot  at 
them  from  from  all  quarters,  wounded  the  leader  of 
the  gang,  which  caused  them  to  "  take  leg-bail  "  for 
other  more  remote  quarters.  They  killed  several 
persons  at  Blue  Point ;  surrounded  a  garrison  having 
in  it  fifty  persons,  but  none  of  the  inmates  were 
killed.  Major  Phelps  was  wounded ;  and  his  mills' 
and  other  edifices  were  consumed.  About  the  same 
time,  five  persons  going  up  the  Saco  in  a  boat  were 
all  killed. 

In  September  the  tribes  tended  towards  Piscataqua^ 
and  committed  violence  along  that  river,  burnt  the 


242  INDIAN   WARS. 

houses  of  the  two  Chesleys  at  Oyster  River,  killed 
two  men  on  board  a  canoe  there,  carried  away  a 
young  man  and  an  old  Irishman  from  Exeter,  killed 
Goodman  Robinson  of  Exeter,  while  on  the  road  to 
Hampton,  He  and  son  were  waylaid  by  John  Samp- 
son Cromwell,  and  John  Linde :  the  son  escaped, 
taking  flight  into  the  woods. 

Then  at  Oyster  River  and  Newechewanick  great 
violence  was  done.  At  the  latter  place,  on  the  16th 
of  October,  1676,  a  hundred  Indians  came  in,  and  a 
half  a  mile  above  the  upper  garrison  at  Salmon  Falls, 
amid  other  outrages,  killed  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Tozer,  and  others,  and  took  his  son  captive ;  from 
which  a  despatch  was  sent  to  Major  Waldron  as 
follows :  — 

SALMON  FALLS,  Oct  16,  1675. 

MR.  RICHARD  WALDRON  AND  LIEUT.  COFFIN, — These 
are  to  inform  you  that  just  now  the  Indians  are  engaging  us 
with  at  least  an  hundred  men,  and  have  slain  four  of  our  men 
already, — Richard  Tozer,  James  Barny,  Isaac  Bettes,  and 
Tozer 's  son, —  and  burnt  Benoni  Hodsdan's  house.  Sirs,  if  ever 
you  have  any  love  for  us  and  the  country,  now  show  yourselves 
,-ath  men  to  help  us ;  or  else  we  are  all  in  great  danger  to  be 
slain,  unless  our  God  wonderfully  appears  for  our  deliverance. 
They  that  cannot  fight,  let  them  pray.  Nothing  elsie  ;  but  I  rest 
Yours  to  serve  you, 

ROGER  I^LAISTED. 
GEORGE  BROUGHTON. 


MASSACRE   AT   SALMON  FALLS.  243 

And  thereupon  Waldron  sent  twenty  men  with  a 
yoke  of  oxen  and  cart  to  take  away  the  dead  bodies ; 
and,  obtaining  a  part  of  them,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
Indians  in  ambush  fired  upon  them,  frightened  the 
cattle  so  that  they  ran  back  to  the  garrison  carrying 
part  of  the  dead,  leaving  the  twenty  men  to  fight  it 
out  on  that  line.  Capt.  Plaisted  was  killed:  the 
others  got  back  to  the  garrison,  the  Indians  taking 
fright  and  running  away.  And  the  Indians  advanced 
to  Sturgeon  Creek,  to  Kittery,  to  Cocheco,  Exeter, 
Salmon  Falls,  Casco  Bay,  Wells :  there  and  in  other 
places  were  constantly  depredations  and  murders ; 
and  in  the  conflicts  in  that  direction  between  the 
Piscataqua  and  the  Kennebeck,  upwards  of  fifty  of 
the  English  were  slain,  and  nearly  double  that  num- 
ber on  the  part  of  the  tribes.  In  this,  from  August 
to  December,  1676,  the  Pugwakets  of  Saco,  and 
Androscoggins  of  Pejepscot  River,  and  some  of  the 
Pennacooks,  took  a  part. 

GARRISONS. 

Besides  the  ordinary  forts  in  these  days,  some  of 
which  have  been  named,  there  were  garrisons  or 
block-houses  west,  at  George's,  Pemaquid,  Richmond, 
Saco;  at  Fort  Massachusetts,  Pelham,  Shirley, 
Colerain,  Fall  Town,  Dinsdale,  Northfield,  DeerjMd, 
Road  Town,  New  Salem,  Winchester,  Lower  Ashuelot, 


244  INDIAN  WARS. 

Upper  Ashuelot,  No.  4,  Pequiog,  Nashawog,  Narra* 
gansett  No.  2,  Brown's,  Leominister,  Lunenburg, 
Towns  and,  Groton,  New  Ipswich,  Salem,  Canada, 
Souhegan  West,  New  Hopkinton,  Great  Meadows, 
Contoocook,  Rumford,  Suncook,  Dunham  12. 

In  the  eastern  part,  there  were  garrisons  at 
Philip's  Town,  Berwick,  Kitteiy,  York,  Wells, 
Arundel,  Biddeford,  Scarborough,  Falmouth,  Saca- 
rappee,  Narragansett  No.  7  or  Gorham's,  New 
Marblehead,  North  Yarmouth,  Topsham,  Wiscasset 
or  Unksechuset,  Rice's  of  Charlemont,  George 
Town  or  Arrowsick,  Wiscasset,  Sheepscot,  Dama- 
riscotta,  and  East  George's;  being  in  all  fifty-six, 
whereof  fifteen  are  in  another  province,  several  in 
each  of  the  many  towns,  and  seven  .as  we  have 
seen  in  Penacook. 

In  the  inland  frontiers  many  of  the  out  farm- 
houses had  been  reconstructed,  having  jets  in  their 
corners  with  loop-holes  for  small  arms. 

By  means  of  garrisons  erected  almost  everywhere, 
muny  lives  were  saved. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OTHER   CONFLICTS   EASTWARD. 

Gen.  Dennison  in  the  East.  — Tribes  begin  to  disperse.  — Canonicus 
is  slain.  — Warriors  seek  Concealment  among  the  Neutral  Tribes. 

—  Four  Hundred  Indians  surrounded  and  taken  at  Cocheco.— 
Some  sold  as  Slaves,  and  Some  hanged.  —  Tribes  rebel  at  Casco 
and  Falmonth.  —  Court  at  Boston  appoint  a  Council  of  War.— 
Council  obtain  a  Reconciliation. — War  revives  in  the  Summer. 

—  Waldron  pacifies  the   Piscataquas  and   Cascos.  —  Meets  the 
Sachems  on  the  Kennebeck.  —  Reasonings  of  the  Squaw  Sachem. 

—  Massacres  follow  at  Hammond's,  at  Arrowsick. — Settlers  leave 
their  Plantations. — Apply  for  Aid  at  Boston,  but  in  Vain. — 
Indians  again  at  Casco.  — Again  at  Piscataqua.  —  At  Cape  Ned- 
duck.  —At  Wells. —  At  Blackport.  — The  People  Escape. — Tribes 
at  Richmond  Island.  —  Ransom  from  Boston  stolen. — Mugg  a 
Prisoner  at  Boston.  —  Remains  as  a  Hostage.  —  More  Forces  sent. 

—  Other  Murders. — Forces  reach  Ossipee.  —  Indians  have  fled. — 
Mugg  is  shipped  to  obtain  English  Captives.  —  His  Vessels  return 
with  Eleven  Captives.  —  Forces  sent  under  Major  Waldron. — 
His  Negotiation. — Returns  to  Boston. — War  near  Cocheco. — 
Alliance  with  Mohawks. — Mohawks  at  Dover. — Kill  Waldron' s 
Men.  — Simon  invades  Portsmouth.  —  A  Treaty  of  Peace.  — Gar- 
risons at  Dover  taken.  — Major  Waldron  is  slain. — Invasions. 

'URING    Philip's    war,    the     governor 
and    council    of    Massachusetts     had 
enough  upon  their  hands  in  the  western 
towns ;  yet  they  had  a  care  for  the  several 
counties  eastward.     That  region  of  coun- 
try was  consigned  more  especially  to  the  oversight 

245 


246  INDIAN  WARS. 

of  Major-Gen.  D.  Dennison,  who  raised  soldiers; 
but,  the  winter  setting  in  sharply  in  December,  the 
snow,  being  deep,  caused  great  delay.  Yet  the  same 
winter's  cold  was  bearing  still  more  heavily  upon  the 
Ind'ans,  reducing  them  in  some  instances  to  starva- 
tion ;  and  they  began  to  sue  for  peace. 

Their  applications  were  made  to  Major  Waldron 
of  Dover,  through  whose  mediation  terms  of  peace 
were  agreed  upon,  but  which,  as  it  seems,  were  not 
strictly  fulfilled. 

On  the  last  of  June,  1676,  the  Indians,  by  the 
terrible  conflicts  and  exposures  of  the  preceding 
year,  were  strangely  dispersed  and  dispirited,  every 
nation  beginning  to  shift  for  itself.  The  faithful  old 
Cauonicus  of  the  Narragansetts,  distrusting  the 
faith  of  the  English,  had  been  slain  in  the  woods  ; 
but  the  life  of  his  squaw  was  spared. 

Some  of  the  Lancaster  warriors  tried  to  obtain 
shelter  beneath  the  wings  of  the  peaceful  Piscata- 
quas.  Some  of  them  had  mixed  with  the  Penacooks, 
Pequawkets,  ancl  Ossipees,  seeking  thus  to  avoid 
danger.  Thus  at  this  time  there  was  a  strange 
admixture  of  the  elements  of  peace  and  of  hostility 
among  nearly  all  the  tribes. 

Whereupon  forces  had  been  raised  in  Massa- 
chusetts, the  commanders  of  which  were  Capts. 
Wm.  Hawthorne  and  Joseph  Still,  to  suppress  in- 


FOUR   HUNDRED  INDIANS   SURPRISED.        247 

surrections.  And  these  leaders  joined  Major  Wal- 
dron  and  Capt.  Frost  of  Kittery,  and  their  men,  in 
the  scheme  of  seizing  all  the  Indians  that  might  be 
induced  to  assemble  in  Dover  at  their  call. 

Accordingly,  on  the  6th  of  September,  1676. 
Wonalancet  with  four  hundred  Indians  had  been 
induced  to  meet  at  Major  Waldron's  at  Cochecc 
(Dover).  They  made  a  military  parade,  and,  as  was 
concerted,  joined  with  the  Indians  in  a  sham-fight 
exercise.  The  Indians  were  put  upon  the  drag- 
ropes  of  the  artillery.  The  English,  of  course,  were 
appointed  to  manage  the  guns ;  and  a  sham  fight 
commenced.  A  gun  exploded  towards  the  Indians, 
at  which  the  English  infantry  by  a  preconcerted 
manuoevre  enclosed  the  Indians  on  all  sides,  secured 
and  disarmed  them  all. 

Hubbard  says,  "  They  were  handsomely  surprised, 
without  the  loss  of  any  person's  life,"  to  the  number 
of  four  hundred ;  by  which  device,  after  our  forces 
had  them  all  in  their  hands,  they  separated  the 
peaceable  from  the  perfidious.  Wonalancet  and  the 
friendly  Penacooks,  Pequawkets,  and  Ossipees  were 
dismissed  to  their  homes,  while  two  hundred  or  more, 
having  taken  part  in  the  rebellion,  were  taken  to 
Boston.  Seven  or  eight  of  them  were  hanged  for 
supposed  murders  ;  and  the  others  were  sent  to  other 
parts,  and  some  of  them  at  least  sold  into  slavery. 


248  INDIAN   WAES. 

Tlirs  were  they  disposed  of  to  prevent  their 
union  with  the  hostile  eastern  Indians. 

By  reason  of  certain  friendly  Indians  at  Cape 
Sable  being  taken  under  color  of  a  legal  warrant, 
but  having  fraudulently  been  sold  into  slavery,  and 
the  tribes  having  been  deprived  by  the  English  of 
their  ammunition,  hunger  and  murmurings  and  ani- 
mosity pervaded  the  eastern  wigwams  everywhere. 

On  the  llth  of  August,  1676,  at  Casco,  a  party  of 
Indians  commenced  depredations,  and  carried  away 
captive  thirty  persons,  and  burnt  down  their  dwell- 
ing-houses, among  whom  was  one  Anthony  Brackett 
of  that  place.  Brackett's  brother,  offering  to  resist, 
was  killed :  the  wife  and  five  children  were  carried 
away  prisoners.  Thence  they  went  to  Corban's 
house,  killed  him,  Humphrey  Durham,  and  Benjamin 
Atwel,  and  thence  onward  to  other  places,  killing 
others.  So  that  from  Falmouth  and  Casco  Bay, 
thirty-four  persons  were  carried  into  captivity. 

The  Indians  up  at  Fort  Totonic  on  the  Kenne- 
beck  had  done  no  wrong  against  the  English  :  yet 
Capt.  S.  Davis  and  Capt.  Lape  of  Boston  thought  fit 
to  bring  away  all  their  powder  and  shot  from  their 
trading-house,  and  told  them,  if  they  would  come 
down  to  their  place  they  would  supply  them,  and  that 
if  any  of  them  refused  to  come  down  and  deliver  up 
their  arms,  the  English  would  kill  them. 


MEETING   OP  THE  SACHEMS.  249 

These  and  other  aggravating  incidents  caused  so 
much  trouble  along  the  Kennebeck,  that  the  General 
Court  at  Boston  appointed  a  council  of  war  there, 
and  issued  warrants  to  restrain  all  manner  of  per- 
sons from  intermeddling  with  the  Indians  without 
further  order,  which  within  a  few  days  should  bo 
had. 

In  the  mean  time  the  sachems  met  at  Pemaquid ; 
and,  notwithstanding  their  many  complaints  made  of 
the  English  on  that  river,  they  came  to  terms  of 
peace,  promised  friendship  as  well  as  aid  against  the 
hostile  Androscoggins. 

A  hard  winter  was  over  and  gone  ;  and  then  the 
English  agent  at  Pemaquid  attended  a  meeting  of 
Indians  in  the  East,  praying  that  peace  might  be 
continued,  at  which  the  tribes  were  joyful,  presents 
being  passed  in  confirmation  of  a  mutual  good  under- 
standing. But  when  summer  came  the  kidnapping 
of  individual  Indians  by  the  English,  which  had 
previously  transpired,  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
came  to  light ;  and  thereupon  they  again  fell  into  a 
rage,  making  bitter  complaints  to  Mr.  Earthy  the 
English  agent,  and  others.  They  were  told  that 
their  Indian  friends  thus  kidnapped  and  transported 
should  be  returned  to  them.  The  Indians,  thus  out- 
raged with  mere  promises  which  might  never  be 
fulfilled,  were  not  easily  appeased :  for  true  it  was  in 


250  INDIAN  WAES. 

the  summer  and  fall  previously,  they  had  been 
frightened  away  from  their  corn-plots ;  and,  as  it 
appeared  also,  the  withholding  of  their  powder  and 
shot  during  the  winter  had  tended  to  deprive  them 
of  their  sustenance  in  that  direction  ;  and  many  of 
them  in  the  winter's  cold,  almost  starved,  had  died 
all  along  the  Kennebeck. 

Major  Waldron  of  Dover  had  concluded  a  peace 
with  the  Piscataqua  and  Casco  Indians;  and  now 
there  was  to  be  an  attempt  made  to  conclude  a  peace 
with  the  Androscoggins,  including  all  the  eastern 
tribes.  Yet  jealousies  increased ;  and  a  meeting  was 
sought  as  the  agent  had  proposed. 

Soon  a  notice  came  from  Totonnock,  desiring  him 
to  meet  Squando  and  the  "  Amoscoggan "  sachems 
there  for  a  treaty. 

Accordingly  this  agent,  by  advice  from  the  council 
then  sitting  in  Kennebeck,  with  others  repaired 
thither.  But  at  an  English  house  on  the  way  his 
suspicions  were  aroused  by  startling  reports;  yet 
our  agent  passed  on,  and  met  them  in  council. 

Madokawando  sat  as  chief;  and  Assimin,  squaw, 
was  their  speaker. 

Capt.  Davis,  speaking,  told  them  in  substance  that 
the  English  were  to  deal  with  them  like  men.  To 
which  the  squaw  replied,  — 


HARD   QUESTIONS   PROPOUNDED.  251 

"  You  did  otherwise  with  us.  When  fourteen  of  oxir  men 
came  to  treat  with  you,  you  set  a  guard  over  them,  and  took 
away  their  guns  ;  and  a  second  time  you  required  our  guns,  and 
demanded  us  to  come  down  unto  you  or  you  would  kill  us, 
which  was  the  cause  of  our  leaving  our  fort  and  corn  to  oui 
great  loss.-" 

MADOKAWANDO  appropriately  asked  what  they 
were  to  do  for  the  want  of  corn ;  what  for  the  want 
of  powder  and  shot ;  and  whether  the  English  would 
have  them  die,  leave  the  country,  or  go  entirely  over  to 
the  French. 

The  English  messenger,  on  the  other  hand,  among 
other  things  said,  "You  have  admitted  that  the 
western  tribes  will  not  make  peace.  Now,  if  we  sell 
you  powder,  and  you  give  it  to  the  western  men, 
what  do  we  do  but  to  cut  our  own  throats  ?  " 

Much  was  said,  but  no  treaty  was  then  had ;  and 
conflicts  thereafterwards  came  to  pass  as  formerly. 

Hammond's  house  was  invaded.  On  the  14th  of 
August,  1676,  on  the  island  Arrowsick,  early  in  the 
morning,  the  Indians  hid  themselves  under  the  walls 
of  its  fort  until  the  sentinel  had  gone  from  his  place : 
then  chey  followed  him  to  the  fort-gate,  obtained  a 
foot-hold  at  the  port-holes,  shot  down  all  that  were 
passing  up  and  down  within  the  walls  of  it,  made 
themselves  masters  of  it,  and  of  all  that  was  within 
it.  Capt.  Davis,  within  the  fortification,  was 


252  INDIAN  WAKS. 

wounded  there,  but  escaped.  Two  others,  Capt. 
Lake  and  Major  Clarke,  also  escaped  ten  or  twelve 
miles  away  until  they  found  some  craft  in  which  to 
get  away  ;  but,  as  it  happened,  that  "  good  man  " 
Lake  was  slaughtered  before  he  reached  a  place  of 
safety.  He  and  Clarke  were  the  owners,  by  purchase, 
of  this  island  Arrowsick  in  the  Kennebeck.  Their 
fortifications  there  were  extensive,  with  many  con- 
venient buildings  for  habitations  and  trade.  The 
persons  slain  at  Hammond's  and  Arrowsick  were 
sixty-three. 

From  this  all  the  white  inhabitants  along  the  Ken- 
nebeck and  Sheepscot  Rivers  fled  away.  Help  was 
sought  at  Boston.  Some  of  the  people  tarried  at 
M onhiggon,  resolving  there  to  stay  to  await  some  re- 
port from  headquarters.  Guarding  themselves  by  a 
night  watch  of  twenty-five  men,  they  thus  continued 
for  a  fortnight,  within  which  time  nearly  all  tha 
houses  in  the  country  round  about  were  consumed  ; 
yet  Bostonjiaving  enough  on  its  hands  nearer  home, 
had  not  been  heard  from.  These  people  thereupon 
advanced  farther  out,  some  to  Piscataqua,  some  to 
Salem,  and  some  to  Boston. 

At  the  Arrowsick  massacre,  some  of  the  people 
were  away,  some  to  bring  corn ;  some  were  in  boats 
obtaining  fish.  Among  the  latter  was  Richard  Pots 
with  two  others.  Mrs.  Pots  was  washing  bj  the 


BLACK  POINT   INVADED.  253 

water's  edge,  where  she  with  her  children  were  pur- 
sued in  hot  haste  by  the  Indians.  A  little  child  cried, 
and  called  to  its  father  from  the  shore  in  the  dis- 
tance for  help  ;  but  the  father  in  his  prudence  fled  or 
paddled  away,  not  deeming  it  wise  even  to  shoot  the 
Indian.  From  that  place  the  Indians  invaded  Spur- 
winks  and  other  places.  At  Casco  on  Sept.  23, 1676, 
some  seven  men  went  to  Mountjoy's  Island  to  obtain 
sheep.  The  Indians  pursued  them :  they  betook  them- 
selves to  a  stone  house  there,  defended  themselves, 
but  in  the  end  were  all  destroyed.  One  of  them, 
George  Felt,  mortally  wounded,  survived  but  for  a 
few  days,  and,  being  a  valiant  man,  died  much  la- 
mented. 

From  this,  the  Indians  wandered  nearer  towards 
Piscataqua.  A  party  advanced  upon  Cape  Nedduck, 
killed  or  carried  away  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  scattered  houses  of  that  locality,  leaving  there 
unmistakable  evidence  of  their  heart-rending  cruel- 
ties. The  day  before  this  a  man  was  killed  in  Wells, 
and  more  soon  afterwards. 

On  the  12th  of  October,  1676,  one  hundred  In- 
dians invaded  Blackpoint.  All  the  inhabitants  had 
concentrated  into  one  garrison.  The  Indians  were 
led  by  the  sagamore  Mugg.  He  demanded  of  Joslyn, 
chief  of  the  garrison,  a  surrender,  offering  them  the 
privilege  of  taking  away  their  goods.  This  was  out 


254  INDIAN  WARS. 

a  distance  from  it;  and  when  Joslyn  returned  all  his 
people  had  escaped,  and  had  carried  away  their  goods, 
so  that  none  were  left  to  stand  by  him  but  his  ser- 
vants who  attended  him ;  and  he  could  do  no  better 
than  to  surrender.  The  invasion  upon  Richmond  Is- 
land followed  immediately  upon  that  of  P^.ckpoint. 
Many  other  wicked  things  happened  Hereabouts  ; 
and  before  the  1st  of  November,  1676,  the  said  Mugg 
came  to  Piscataqua,  bringing  James  Fryer,  who, 
being  disabled,  soon  died  of  his  wounds. 

Ray,  in  the  mean  time,  had  been  sent  east  from 
Boston  to  ransom  the  eastern  prisoners.  But,  as  it 
seems,  the  ransom  had  been  stolen  by  one  of  the 
tribes ;  and  thereupon  Mugg,  their  leader,  was  seized 
by  the  major-general  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony, 
or  by  his  order,  and  was  sent  to  the  governor  and 
council  at  Boston,  that  he  might  there,  in  the  name 
of  their  chief,  Madokawando,  make  arrangements  for 
the  giving-up  of  all  the  fifty  or  sixty  prisoners  which 
they  then  held ;  and  with  the  understanding  that 
said  Mugg  was  to  be  held  a  hostage  for  the  due 
performance  of  this  understanding,  Madokawando 
and  Squando  being  the  leading  chiefs  at  war  in  the 
East. 

Outrages  in  the  mean  time  were  daily  heard  of  from 
the  country  farther  north ;  and,  to  quell  the  erup- 
tions there,  a  military  force  of  one  hundred  and 


EXPEDITIONS   SENT  NORTH.  255 

thirty  Englishmen,  and  forty  allied  Indians,  were 
sent  there  under  the  command  of  Capts.  Haw- 
thorne, Still,  and*  Hunting,  to  be  joined  with  others 
raised  by  Major  Waldron  and  Capt.  Frost.  The 
force  advanced  in  that  direction,  sweeping  round  vid 
Casco,  Wells,  Winter  Harbor,  Blackpoint,  in  pur- 
suit of  Indians,  but  not  finding  many,  yet  killing 
now  and  then  one  or  two,  all  others  escaping.  By 
these  men,  James  George  was  shot  from  his  horse 
while  at  Casco  Bay  going  home  from  "church ;  and 
Capt.  Niddqck  on  the  25th  of  September,  1676,  was 
murdered,  also  George  Farrow  of  Wells. 

The  enterprise  proving  fruitless  thus  far,  this  force 
swung  around  towards  Ossipee. 

Yet  at  Wells  and  vicinity  some  murders  were  still 
happening.  Littlefield  and  Cross  and  Bigford  were 
killed  there  about  this  time :  thirteen  head  of  cattle 
were  also  killed,  their  bodies  left  to  their  owners, 
ers,  except  that  their  tongues  had  been  taken  out. 

In  four  days  our  forces  had  reached  Ossipee,  had 
taken  quarters  in  an  old  fort  built  for  the  Indians  by 
the  English  as  a  defence  against  the  Mohawks,  which 
was  fourteen  feet  high,  with  flankers  at  the  corners. 
Cold  winter  had  now  arrived  :  the  soldiers  made  fuel 
of  this  fort,  and  advanced  in  scouting  parties  farther 
north  into  the  woods  among  the  lakes  ;  yet  finding 
no  Indian:*,  and  coining  to  the  conclusion  after  nine 


256  INDIAN   WARS. 

days'  service  in  that  direction,  they  marched  back  to 
Newitchewannock,  having  suffered  more  from  frost 
than  from  Indian  fire-arms. 

In  November  Mugg  had  been  despatched  from  Bos- 
ton with  two  vessels,  through  whom  the  fifty  or  sixty 
prisoners  were  to  be  obtained  in  the  East,  pursuant 
to  the  articles  of  treaty  entered  into  on  the  sixth  clay 
of  that  month,  between  the  eastern  tribes  and  the 
English  ;  which  treaty  was  signed  by  "  The  X  mark 
of  Mugg,  Indian"  on  the  one  side,  and  by  "  John 
Earthy,  Richard  Oliver,  and  Isaac  Addison,"  on  the 
other. 

Mugg  with  the  vessels  found  Madokawando  at  Pe- 
nobscot  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  month,  who  de- 
livered all  the  prisoners  then  there  in  his  power, 
which  were  only  eleven.  Mugg  then  passed  up  into 
the  wilderness  to  find  other  prisoners  with  other 
tribes  ;  but,  being  gone  too  long,  the  vessels  returned 
to  Boston,  where  they  arrived  on  the  25th  of  De- 
cember, 1676  without  him. 

As  to  the  other  prisoners,  they  were  still  among 
their  captors,  and  were  not  as  yet  obtained;  the 
women  being  employed  making  garments  for  the 
natives  from  goods  plundered  from  the  English  ;  the 
tribes  not  all  seeking  peace  as  their  sachems  had 
sought,  and  still  desired. 

In  the  first  week  of  February,  1676,  two  hundred 


WALDRON'S  EXPEDITION.  257 

and  fifty  soldiers,  and  sixty  Natick  Indians,  were 
raised,  and  sent  away  by  water  to  the  East,  under 
Major  Waldron.  On  the  llth  of  February,  Waldron 
sailed,  touched  in  various  places,  established  garrisons, 
searched  for  the  captive  prisoners,  found  Mattahando, 
who  promised  to  deliver  up  those  at  Penobscot- 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1676,  at  Marlboro',  the 
worshipping  assembly  was  suddenly  dispersed  by  a 
cry  of  '''•Indians  at  the  door!"  The  confusion  at 
the  moment  was  instantly  increased  by  a  fire  from 
the  enemy.  No  one  was  injured,  save  Moses  New- 
ton, wounded  in  the  arm.  The  people  at  once  van- 
ished to  a  place  of  safety.  The  meeting-house  and 
all  the  defenceless  dwelling-houses  of  the  town  were 
consumed.  Much  property  was  taken  or  destroyed. 

The  historian  says,  "  The  enemy  retired  soon  after 
the  first  fire,  declining  to  risk  the  enterprise  and 
martial  prowess  of  the  young  plantation.  The 
people  at  once  sought  safer  quarters  by  moving  out 
of  the  place." 

"  The  hostile  savage  yells  for  prey 

Along  the  pathless  wild  :   « 
The  huntsman's  track  is  watched  by  day; 

By  night  his  sleep's  beguiled ; 
His  blazing  cottage  lights  the  gloom ; 

His  infant  shrieks  the  alarm ; 
His  wife  sinks  lifeless  in  a  swoon, 

Or  bleeds  within  his  arm." 


258  INDIAN  WARS. 

BATTLE  AT  PEMAQUID. 

At  Gyobscot  Point,  Major  Waldron  espied  two  In- 
dians in  a  canoe,  who  waved  their  caps,  desiring  to 
speak  with  him.  Paine  and  Gendal  were  sent  to 
them,  from  whom  they  learnt  that  there  were  many 
Indians  at  Pemaquid  with  the  English  captives  ;  and 
the  major  bent  his  course  in  that  direction,  landed, 
saw  an  English  captive  with  his  master  in  a  boat, 
and  sought  to  speak  with  the  captive,  which  was  not 
allowed.  But  the  Indians  pretended  peace,  and 
promised  to  deliver  up  such  captives  as  were  at 
Penobscot  the  next  morning.  They  desired  to  speak 
with  some  of  the  officers.  Some  of  them  went  on 
fehore ;  and  three  of  the  sagamores  came  on  board 
the  ship.  After  some  talk  the  major  went  on  shore 
with  six  men,  carrying  no  arms  with  them.  He 
found  their  words  were  uncommonly  smooth ;  and, 
from  the  fact  that  all  definite  action  in  reference 
to  the  delivering-up  of  captives  had  been  deferred  to 
the  next  morning,  his  suspicions  of  their  honesty  be- 
gan to  be  excited.  * 

In  the  morning,  Feb.  27,  the  major,,  with  the  same 
number  as  before,  went  on  shore  to  treat  with  them ; 
they  with  John  Paine  hailing  them  cheerfully.  Their 
persons  were  searched  on  both  sides,  and  all  arms 
laid  aside.  They  spent  the  forenoon  in  a  treaty, 


FAITHLESS   TRIBES   DEFEATED.  259 

whereat  they  seemed  much  to  rejoice,  in  expectation 
of  a  peace  with  the  English.  But  when  Major  Wal- 
dron  urged  a  present  delivery  of  captives,  with  assist- 
ance of  men  and  canoes  to  proceed  against  the 
Androscoggin  Indians,  enemies  to  both,  it  was 
denied ;  .and  they  claimed  pay  for  the  keeping  of  the 
captives  through  the  winter ;  as  for  their  canoes, 
they  had  a  present  use  for  them,  being  bound  to  go 
to  Penobscot:  the  price  demanded  was  twelve 
skins.  This  proposition  was  yielded  to ;  upon  which 
they  delivered  up  William  Chadbourn,  John  Winniek, 
and  John  Warwood.  The  part  of  the  pay  which  was 
to  be  in  liquor  was  paid  down :  the  rest  was  promised 
to  be  sent  in  the  afternoon.  Afterwards,  and  in  the 
mean  time,  three  of  the  sagamores  came  on  board  of 
the  major's  vessel ;  and,  from  their  manner  and  talk, 
the  major's  suspicions  of  their  evil  intent  were  in 
no  way  abated. 

BATTLE   ON  THE  SHORE. 

In  the  afternoon  Major  Waldron,  with  five  attend- 
ants without  arms,  again  went  on  shore  to  meet  the 
Indians,  to  complete  the  treaty,  and  to  pay  the  bal- 
ance of  the  ransom;  but  upon  arriving  there, 
through  a  due  circumspection,  the  major  discovered, 
'  within  a  rod  or  two  of  the  place  of  the  hearing,  some 
concealed  weapons  of  death,  m  the  shape  of  guns  and 


260  INDIAN  WARS. 

lancets,  obviously  intended  to  be  used  by  the  war 
riors  upon  receipt  of  their  full  pay.  He  immediately 
seized  up  a  lancet,  and,  springing  towards  them, 
charged  falsehood  and  treachery  upon  them,  at 
which  guilt  was  seen  in  every  countenance.  One  or 
two  advanced  towards  him  as  if  to  get  the  weapon ; 
but  he,  brandishing  it,  threatened  death  to  any  one 
that  approached  him,  and  passing  his  hand  upward, 
raised  his  hat,  which  was  a  signal  of  distress  to  all 
his  men  in  the  ship,  at  which  they  rallied  around 
him  in  full  force.  The  Indians  seized  some  of  their 
weapons,  but  were  put  to  flight.  The  soldiers  fought 
valiantly:  many  of  the  tribe,  before  they  could 
get  away,  as  they  took  to  their  boats,  were  slain. 

The  remainder  of  the  captives  the  major  was  left 
to  seek  elsewhere ;  and  after  establishing  garrisons 
in  the  East,  as  we  have  noticed,  and  after  visiting 
Sheepscot,  from  which  they  obtained  plunder  in 
which  there  were  forty  bushels  of  wheat,  and  at  Ar- 
rowsick  in  the  Kennebeck,  after  obtaining  a  hundred 
thousand  feet  of  lumber,  they  returned  home  to 
Boston. 

WAR  IN  WALDRON'S  NEIGHBORHOOD. 

This  was  in  1676.  Previously,  in  1675,  while  the 
war  was  going  on  westerly  and  in  the  remote  East, 
Squando  at  Saco,  and  his  tribes,  were  fruitful  of  con- 


SLAUGHTER  IN  VARIOUS  PLACES.  261 

flicts  in  the  country  in  which  Dover  and  Major 
Waldron  were  the  great  centre.  Men  at  Durham, 
at  Exeter,  at  Hampton,  at  Newichewannock,  at  Con- 
cord, N.H.,  and  many  other  places,  had  been  slain, 
and  niany  dwelling-houses  consumed.  Twenty 
young  men,  by  leave  of  the  major,  had  scattered 
themselves  in  the  woods,  discovered  five  Indians, 
and  killed  two  of  them.  The  people  fled  from  their 
homes  and  from  business  to  their  garrisons.  Fast- 
ing and  prayer  had  become  more  common.  At 
Salmon  Falls,  Lieut.  Roger  Plaisted  sent  out  seven 
men  from  his  garrison :  they  fell  into  an  ambuscade, 
and  three  of  them  were  killed.  Two  days  after  the 
taking  of  the  four  hundred  Indians  at  Cocheco,  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  Waldron's  and  Frost's  men, 
with  Blind  Will,  a  sagamore  of  the  Indians,  as  pilot, 
marched  off  to  the  eastward,  and  thence  to  the 
Ossipee  Ponds,  where  the  Indians  had  a  strong  fort 
of  timber  fourteen  feet  high  'with  flanker ;  but,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  tribes  were  somewhere  else. 

ENGLISH  ALLIANCE   WITH  THE   MOHAWKS. 

Hitherto  there  had  been  conflicts,  between  the 
eastern  Indians  and  the  Mohawks  at  New  York; 
and  at  this  crisis  two  messengers,  Major  Pynchon 
of  Springfield  and  Richards  of  Hartford,  repaired  to 
that  country,  and  made  an  alliance  with  the  Mo- 


232  INDIAN  WARS. 

hawks.  The  Mohawks  were  valiant  for  a  fight  as 
against  their  enemies  of  old;  and  in  March,  1677, 
they  caine  down  upon  Amoskeag  Falls.  Wona- 
lancet  in  the  woods  discovered  fifteen  Indians,  who 
called  to  him  in  language  not  understood.  He  fled: 
they  fired  their  guns  at  him ;  he  escaped.  Thence 
they  appeared  at  Cocheco,  against  whom  Waldron, 
not  knowing  them  to  be  allies,  sent  out  eight  of  his 
Indians  led  by  Blind  Will  against  them,  or  at  least 
to  obtain  information ;  and  the  Mohawks  fell  upon 
them,  and  but  two  or  three  escaped.  Will  was 
dragged  away  by  his  hair,  and  perished  in  the  woods 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Isinglass  and  Cocheco  Rivers. 
This  place  still  bears  the  name  of  Blind  Will's  Neck. 
Hence  it  appeared  that  .the  Mohawks  were  intent 
upon  the  destruction  of  the  friends  of  the  English  as 
well  as  their  foes ;  and,  in  fact,  they  threatened  the 
destruction  of  all  the  Indians  in  these  parts  without 
distinction.  They  thus  proved  fruitful  of  many 
calamities  to  the  English.  Then  the  garrisons  at 
Wells  and  Blackpoint  were  beset :  at  the  latter 
place  the  tribes  lost  Mugg,  their  leader  and  treach- 
erous negotiator. 

On  a  sabbath  morning  Simon^  with  twenty  other 
Indians,  surprised  and  took  six  of  our  Indians  in 
the  woods  near  Portsmouth.  At  night  they  crossed 
the  river  at  Long  Beach,  killed  some  sheep  at 


TREATY  AT  CASCO.  263 

Kittery,  and  turned  off  towards  Wells ;  but  in  fear 
of  the  Mohawks  they  let  their  prisouers  go.  Four 
men  were  soon  after  killed  at  North  Hill. 

In  1678  Shapleigh  of  Kittery,  Campernoon  and 
Fryer  of  Portsmouth,  as  commissioners,  entered  into 
a  treaty  with  Squando  and  other  chiefs  at  Casco, 
and  there  obtained  the  remainder  of  the  captives  in 
the  East ;  and  here  an  end  was  put  to  this  terrible 
war  of  three  years. 

We  have  said  that  Philip's  war  was  ended ;  but 
this  is  to  be  taken  at  least  with  some  allowance,  as 
it  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  ascertain  when  an  In- 
dian war  did  end,  their  nationalities  being  numerous, 
and  their  impetuous  notions  various  and  uncertain. 

At  Cocheco  (Dover),  Major  Waldron  had  a  strong 
garrison-house ;  and  near  him  were  four  others. 

Rankamagus,  a  'Pennacook  chief,  had,  in  league 
with  others,  on  the  27th  of  June,  1689,  contrived  to 
surprise  and  destroy  the  town :  accordingly  squaws 
were  sent,  two  to  each  garrison-house,  to  obtain 
lodgings  for  the  night ;  and  Massandowet,  their  chief 
sachem,  that  same  evening  took  supper  with  the 
major,  and,  among  other  things,  told  him  they  were 
coining  the  next  day  to  trade  with  him ;  but  said, 
"  Brother  Waldron,  what  would  you  do  if  the  strange 
Indians  should  come  ?  "  To  which  he  forcibly  replied, 
"  I could  assemble  an  hundred  men  by  lifting  up  my 
finger" 


284  INDIAN   WARS. 

In  the  utmost  quietude  and  security  they  retired 
to  rest ;  but  at  midnight  the  gates  were  opened  by 
the  squaws,  and  death  and  consternation  prevailed 
throughout  the  town.  One  garrison,  having  refused 
to  admit  the  squaws,  escaped :  all  the  others  fell. 

They  crowded  Waldron's  house,  some  guarding 
the  doors,  while  others  advanced  upon  their  business 
of  blood  and  death.  Waldron,  then  eighty  years  of 
age,  seizing  his  sword,  defending  himself,  drove  the 
savages  from  room  to  room,  until,  from  behind  him, 
he  was  knocked  down  with  a  hatchet,  and  then, 
being  dragged  away  and  placed  upon  a  table,  was 
stripped,  and  gashed,  burned,  and  otherwise  tortured, 
until  death  relieved  him. 

While  gashing  him,  they  would  say  thus,  "  I  cross 
out  my  account."  While  cutting  off  his  fingers,  they 
would  say,  "  Now  will  your  fist  weigh  a  pound?  " 

While  this  was  being  done,  other  savages  were 
compelling  the  women  of  the  garrison  to  prepare 
supper  for  them. 

In  the  garrison-houses  and  elsewhere,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Dover,  to  the  number  of  twenty-three,  were 
killed ;  and  twenty-nine  were  carried  away  captive 
through  the  wilderness  to  Canada,  where  the  most 
of  them  were  sold  to  the  French. 

Previously,  an  Englishman  at  Chelmsford,  Mass., 
had  learned  of  some  Indians  of  their  proposed 


VARIOUS   INVASIONS.  265 

att  ack  on  Cocheco,  and  had  sent  a  despatch  to  in- 
form them ;  but,  being  delayed  at  Newbury  Ferry, 
sad  to  relate,  the  despatch  failed  to  reach  its  desti- 
nation. 

At  ANDOVEE,  as  we  have  seen,  in  Philip's  war, 
several  persons  were  killed  by  the  Indians ;  others 
were  captured;  and  some  houses  were  burned,  as 
was  common :  and  now  in  1698  Assacumbuit  made 
an  attack  upon  the  town  with  forty  Indians,  "  burned 
t\\  o  dwelling-houses,  and  killed  Simon  Wade,  Nath. 
Brown,  Penelope  Johnson,  Capt.  Pasco  Chubb,  his 
wife  Hannah,  and  a  daughter  of  Edmund  Faulkner." 

BILLERICA. 

On  this  town,  in  1695,  an  attack  was  made.  As 
Nason  describes  it  in  his  excellent  Massachusetts 
Gazetteer,  "  Several  were  slain;  and  then  again,  on 
the  5th  of  August  of  that  year,  the  Indians  entered 
the  house  of  John  Rogers  in  that  northerly  part  of  the 
town,  and  discharged  an  arrow  at  him  while  asleep, 
which  entered  his  neck,  severing  the  main  artery : 
awakened,  he  started  up,  seizing  the  arrow,  withdrew 
it,  but  expired  with  the  instrument  of  death  in  his 
own  hand.  A  woman,  being  in  a  chamber  at  the 
time,  threw  herself  out  of  the  window,  and,  though 
severely  injured,  made  her  escape  by  concealing  her- 
self among  some  flags.  A  young  woman  was  scalped 


26b  INDIAN   WARS. 

and  left  for  dead,  but  survived.  A  son  and  daughter 
of  Mr.  Rogers  were  made  prisoners.  The  family  of 
John  Levestone  suffered  also  severely :  his  mother  and 
five  young  children  were  killed,  and  his  oldest  daugh- 
ter captured.  Capt.  Thomas  Rogers  and  his  oldest  son 
were  killed.  Mary,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Roger  Toothaker, 
and  Margaret  his  youngest  daughter,  with  four  other 
persons,  were  slain." 

The  Indians  were  pursued  by  the  villagers,  but  to 
no  purpose.  The  tribes  had  covered  their  tracks,  had 
even  tied  up  the  mouths  of  their  dogs  with  wampum, 
to  prevent  all  noise,  and  to  avoid  detection.  That 
terrible  shock  to  Billerica  was  long  held  by  its  in- 
habitants in  painful  remembrance. 

In  1690,  March  18,  Sieur  Hartel  and  Hopegood, 
with  fifty-two  French  and  Indians  from  Canada,  in- 
vaded Salmon  Falls,  N.H.  The  attack  was  at  day- 
break, in  three  places.  The  people  from  their  garrisons 
defended,  but  were  overcome  :  thirty  were  killed, 
and  fifty -four  surrendered.  Houses,  mills,  and  barns 
were  burned ;  and  many  cattle  were  killed.  The  in- 
habitants, gallantly  following  them  into  the  woods, 
gave  them  battle,  with  the  loss  of  some  four  or  five 
on  each  side. 

Hertel,  on  his  way  home,  was  joined  by  others, 
and  fell  in  upon  the  fort  at  Casco.  His  mode  of 
warfare  was  cruel. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


KING  WILLIAM  S   WAR. 

New  England  is  alarmed. — Wars  as  they  advanced.  —  Three  De- 
tachments from  Canada. — Attack  on  Salmon  Falls. — Treaty 
with  Penobscots  and  Others.  —  Attack  on  Oyster  River.  —  Ports- 
mouth invaded. —Skirmish  at  Breakfast  Hill. —  Dover  and 
Kittery  assailed.  — Treaty  at  Casco.  — Five  Hundred  French  and 
Indians  invade  New  England. — Invasion  of  1704. — CoL 
Church's  Expedition  with  Major  Hilton.  —Hilton's  Expedition  in 
1705  on  Snow-Shoes.  — Patrol  at  Portsmouth.  —  Heroic  Women. 

—  Two  Hundred  and  Seventy  Warriors  at  Piscataqua  and  Dun- 
stable.  —  Mohawks,    painted  Red,   attack  Oyster  River.  —  Col 
Hilton  of  Exeter  slain.  —  Three  Hundred  and  Forty-two  French 
and  Indians  attack  Deerfield.  —  A  Flag-ship  returns  Prisoners. 

—  Raid  on  Worcester.  —  On   East   Hampton.  —  On  Sterling  — 
Premium  on  Scalps.  — Expedition  to  obtain  Captives.  —Church, 
Hilton,  and  Forces  are  sent  East.  —Col.  W.  Hilton  slain.  —Col. 
Walton's  Expedition  to  the  East.  —  Piloted  by  a  Squaw.  —  Three 
Hundred   Indians  advance   East  with   Threats.  — French   and 
Indians  by  the  Government    declared  Rebels.  —  Parson    Halle 
makes  Trouble.  — Arrowsick  invaded.  —  Attack  on  Northfield.  — 
Another  Alliance. — Father  Ralle,  the  French  Jesuit,  slain  by 
Capt.  Harmon. 


safety. 


N  the  year  1689,  New  England  was  again 
startled  with  the  news  that  King  William 
had  invaded  England  with  the  intention  of 
dethroning  the  king.  This,  of  course,  at 
once  led  to  combinations,  and  councils  of 
The  French  and  Indians  of  Canada,  as  we 

2fi7 


268  INDIAN    WARS. 

might  well  suppose,  came  down  upon  the  English 
here  like  an  avalanche ;  and  war  here  and  war  there 
continued  until  Jan.  7,  1699.  Then  upon  the 
heel  of  this  followed  another  foreign  conflict,  known 
as  Queen  Anne's  War,  commencing  in  Gov. 
Dudley's  time,  Aug.  10,  1703,  and  ending  at  the 
peace  of  Utrecht,  March  31,  1713. 

In  consequence  of  encroachments  by  the  English 
upon  Indian  lands,  this  peace  proved  to  be  of  short 
duration  ;  and  war  again  gradually  came  on,  became 
general  in  July  25,  1722,  and  continued  to  distress 
New  England  up  to  Dec.  15,  1725. 

Thence  with  occasional  troubles  as  the  years  ad- 
vanced, until  March  29,  1744,  when  Great  Britain, 
under  George  II.,  declared  war  against  France  and 
Spain.  This  raged  up  to  1749.  During  all  of  these 
years,  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  by  Philip, 
(June  24,  1675),  which  we  have  detailed,  and  then 
again  from  1689  up  to  the  year  1763,  there  was,  all 
the  way  along,  more  or  less  of  Indian  conflicts, 
afflicting  the  generations  of  men,  and  overwhelming 
the  hearts  of  women  and  children  with  the  pangs 
of  sad  bereavements. 

In  the  winter  of  1690  Count  de  Fontenac,  gover- 
nor of  Canada,  detached  three  parties  of  French  and 
Indians  on  three  different  routes,  upon  the  frontiers 
of  New  England.  These  parties,  one  of  which  went 


PEACE   PROPOSED  AT   PEMAQUID.  269 

into  New  York,  performed  the  offices  for  which  they 
were  organized,  by  killing  the  inhabitants,  and  burn- 
ing and  destroying  their  property. 

On  the  18th  of  March,  1690,  Trois  Rivieres,  with 
fifty-two  French  and  Indians,  made  an  attack  on 
Salmon  Falls,  N.H.,  led  by  Hopegood,  a  noted  war- 
rior. They  came  in  at  daybreak  in  three,  parties. 
The  people  flew  to  arms,  defended  their  garrisons 
valiantly ;  yet  about  thirty  persons  were  slain,  and 
the  rest,  fifty-four  in  number,  surrendered  to  the 
tribes.  The  houses,  mills,  and  barns  were  burned. 
They  were  pursued  to  the  woods  by  a  hundred  and 
forty  men,  who  overtook  them  at  the  bridge  on 
Wooster's  River.  There,  an  engagement  took  place. 
The  loss  was  small,  —  four  or  five  on  each  side.  The 
next  day  they  destroyed  the  fort  at  Casco. 

In  1693,  Aug.  12,  the  Penobscots,  Kennebecks, 
Androscoggins,  and  Sacos  submitted  to  a  treaty  of 
peace  at  Pemaquid,  in  which  they  agreed  to  abandon 
the  French  interest,  to  deliver  up  all  captives,  and 
to  sustain  free  trade.  Yet  July  18,  1694,  they  were 
induced  by  the  French  to  other  hostilities. 

At  Oyster  River  (which  is  a  westerly  branch  of  the 
Piscataqua)  there  were  twelve  garrisons,  with  dwell- 
ing-houses on  both  sides  of  the  river.  On  the  morning 
of  the  17th  of  July,  1694,  the  Indians  in  two  parties 
invaded  the  village  on  both  sides,  planted  themselves 


270  INDIAN  WARS. 

in  anibush  in  small  parties  near  every  house,  and 
awaited  the  rising  of  the  sun,  as  well  as  the  firing  of 
the  first  gun  as  a  signal.  John  Dean,  the  earliest 
riser,  was  shot  as  he  advanced  from  the  threshold. 
This  gave  an  alarm  prematurely,  as  the  Indians  had 
not  all  obtained  their  several  positions  ;  and  the  in- 
habitants came  forth,  some  to  escape,  and  some  to 
organize,  and  give  battle  to  the  tribes. 

Of  the  twelve  garrison-houses,  five  were  destroyed ; 
to  wit,  Adam's,  Header's,  Drew's,  Edgerley's,  and 
Beard's. 

Fourteen  of  the  inhabitants  were  slain.  A  boy 
was  made  to  run  through  their  files.  They  threw 
their  hatchets  at  him  to  carry  out  their  sports,  until 
he  fainted  and  fell. 

The  defenceless  houses  were  set  on  fire,  and  were 
nearly  all  consumed.  Many  persons  were  taken 
captive. 

The  other  seven  garrisons  —  viz.,  Buinham's,  Bick- 
ford's,  Smith's,  Bunker's,  Davis's,  Jones's,  and  Wood- 
man's —  were  resolutely  and  successfully  defended. 

Thence  a  part  of  these  tribes  proceeded  westward, 
through  Durham  and  Exeter,  to  Groton,  Mass.  They 
were  led  by  Toxus,  a  Norridgewock  chief. 

In  July,  1695,  and  1696,  men  were  killed  by  the 
Indians  at  Exeter  ;  and  in  May  (1696)  John  Church, 
who  previously  had  been  seven  years  a  captive,  was 
slain  at  Cocheco  near  his  own  house. 


CONFLICTS   IN   THE  OLD   TOWNS.  271 

PORTSMOUTH,   N.H. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1696,  an  attack  was  made  on 
Portsmouth,  N.H.,  about  two  miles  out  from  the 
village. 

"  The  enemy  came  over  from  York  Nubile  to 
Sandy  Beach  in  canoes  which  they  had  in  the  bushes 
near  the  shore.  At  early  morn  they  pillaged  five 
houses,  took  four  prisoners,  and  killed  fourteen  per- 
sons. One  man  was  scalped  and  left  for  dead,  but  re- 
covered. The  houses  were  consumed. 

Thereupon,  Capt.  Shackford  with  a  company  of 
militia  advanced  in  pursuit  of  the  tribe,  and,  over- 
taking them  at  Breakfast  Hill,  rushed  upon  them 
from  the  top  of  it,  retook  the  captives  and  the 
plunder ;  but  the  Indians,  rolling  themselves  down 
the  hill,  and  from  thence  into  a  swamp,  reached 
their  canoes,  and  escaped. 

DOVER,  N.H. 

On  the  6th  of  July  of  the  same  year  the  people 
of  Dover  were  waylaid  on  their  return  from  church. 
Three  were  killed,  three  wounded,  and  three  were 
carried  away  to  Penobscot. 

In  June,  1697,  at  Exeter,  a  body  of  Indians  had  in 
the  morning  placed  themselves  near  the  town  for  the 
purpose  of  an  assault,  but  were  frightened  away ;  but 
in  July  they  murdered  Major  Frost  of  Kittery  in 


272  INDIAN   WARS. 

revenge,  as  they  say,  for  the  seizure  of  the  four  hun- 
dred Indians  at  Dover  in  which  he  had  been  con- 
cerned. 

In  1699  the  Indians  were  brought  to  a  treaty  at 
Casco,  by  the  English  commissioners,  wherein  the 
Indians  once  again  promised  better  behavior. 

During  Philip's  war,  Douglas  says  about  three 
thousand  Indians  had  been  slain  or  taken,  and  that 
the  Narragansetts,  one  of  the  largest  nations,  had  been 
reduced,  not  being  able  to  rally  more  than  a  hun- 
dred men. 

And  again  during  King  William's  war  much 
trouble  within  the  Colonies  of  New  England  was 
constantly  diminishing  the  population  on  both  sides. 
Thus  there  were  battles  during  this  period  at  Haver- 
hill  and  other  places  which  we  have  named. 

In  1689  there  had  been  fights  at  North  Yarmouth, 
at  Sheepscot,  and  Cocheco ;  and  forts  and  garrisons 
had  been  built  at  Sheepscot,  Pegepscot,  at  Pemaquid, 
at  Wells,  York,  Berwick,  and  Cocheco. 

In  1690  Massachusetts  sent  a  hundred  and  sixty 
men  to  Albany  for  protection,  and  to  head  off 
invasions  from  the  Canadian  French  and  Indians, 
and  then  to  the  East  in  1692.  William  Phipps,  having 
raised  four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  advanced  against 
the  enemy  on  the  Kennebeck. 

On  the    other  hand,  in  1696  the  French  lauded 


CONFERENCE   IN  1703  AT   CASCO.  273 

some  soldiers  at  Pemaquid,  as  allies  to  the  Indians. 
About  this  time  the  fort  here,  with  ninety-five  men 
and  fourteen  mounted  cannon,  was  surrendered  In 
the  French  by  one  Capt.  Chub. 

In  1697  a  squadron  from  France  was  sent  to 
operate  against  New  England;  but  it  was  driven 
asunder  in  a  storm.  And  then,  Jan.  7, 1698,  followed 
the  French  treaty  of  peace  at  Berwick ;  and  the 
eastern  Indians  again  submitted. 

On  June  20,  1703,  Gov.  Dudley,  with  delegates 
from  his  provinces,  held  a  conference  at  Casco  with 
the  Norridgewocksj  Penobscots,  Pequawkets,  Penna- 
cooks,  and  Androscoggins.  A  treaty  of  peace  was 
then  and  there  entered  into,  with  many  mutual 
promises  and  much  ceremony :  yet,  as  it  turned  out, 
the  Indians'  guns  were  loaded.  And  on  Aug.  10, 
1703,  M.  Bobasier,  with  five  hundred  French  and 
Indians  in  several  divisions,  invaded  the  New- 
England  frontier  from  Casco  to  Wells,  making  bar- 
barous havoc,  sparing  neither  age  nor  sex,  killing 
some,  and  taking  others,  —  a  hundred  and  thirty 
in  all,  burning  and  destroying  all  before  them. 

In  the  spring  of  1704,  the  surrounding  country 
was  alarmed:  the  women  and  children  fled  to  the 
garrisons.  No  laborers  went  to  the  fields  without 
being  fully  armed,  or  surrounded  by  sentinels  well 
posted. 


274  INDIAN   WARS. 

On  April  25  Nathaniel  Header  was  killed  in  his 
field  at  Oyster  River.  Edward  Taylor  was  also  slain 
by  the  tribes ;  and  his  wife  and  son  were  taken  cap- 
tive at  Lamprey  River. 

In  May  of  this  year  Col.  Church  was  started  on 
an  expedition  from  Boston,  with  transports  and 
whaleboats  for  going  up  the  river.  Major  Hilton 
joined  him  at  Piscataqua,  and  they  were  in  the  East 
all  summer ;  destroyed  Minas  and  Chiegnecto,  and 
damaged  the  Indians  at  Penobscot  and  Passama- 
quoddy. 

In  the  winter  of  1705  Col.  Hilton,  with  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  men,  including  Indians,  advanced 
to  Norridgewock  on  snow-shoes  upon  the  snow,  then 
four  feet  deep.  They  burned  the  wigwams,  finding 
no  Indians.  This  year  the  line  of  pickets  which 
enclosed  the  town  of  Portsmouth  was  repaired ;  and 
a  nightly  patrol  was  established  on  the  sea-shore 
from  Rendezvous  Point  to  the  bounds  of  Hampton, 
the  coast  being  infested  with  the  enemy's  priva- 
teers. 

Thomas  Dudley,  governor  at  that  time,  kept  a 
vigilant  eye  upon  the  enemy  during  the  winter, 
and  caused  a  circular  scouting  march  to  be  taken 
once  a  month  around  the  head  of  the  towns  from 
Kingston  to  Salmon  Falls. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1704,  East  Hampton,  Mass., 


WOMEN  VALIANT  IN  WAR.  275 

was  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  and  about  twenty  of 
its  inhabitants  were  slain. 

In  1706,  at  Reading,  five  Indians  killed  a  woman 
and  three  children,  and  carried  the  remaining  five 
into  captivity. 

In  April,  1706,  a  small  party  of  savages  invaded 
the  house  of  John  Drew  at  Oyster  River,  killed 
eight,  and  wounded  two.  Not  a  man  was  in  the 
garrison :  yet  the  WOMEN  valiantly  fired  an  alarm  : 
putting  on  hats,  and  concealing  their  hair,  they  went  into 
the  fight,  firing  away  fervently  at  the  enemy.  The  In- 
dians, frightened,  fled  before  them,  without  plundering 
or  even  burning  a  house. 

In  July,  1706,  a  rumor  came  that  two  hundred 
and  seventy  French  and  Indians  were  on  the  march 
to  Piscataqua ;  and  the  people  again  took  to  their 
garrisons. 

This  enemy  first  fell  in  upon  Dunstable,  thence 
to  Amesbury,  and  then  to  Kingston,  at  this  time 
killing  many  cattle. 

Again,  a  party  of  them  lurked  about  Hilton's 
house  in  Exeter,  where  they  saw  ten  men  moving  to 
the  mowing-field.  When  the  mowers  had  laid  aside 
their  arms,  the  Indians,  creeping  between  them  and 
their  guns,  rushed  upon  them,  killed  four,  wounded 
one,  and  took  three :  two  only  escaped. 

Sept.  15,  1707,  a  man  was  killed  by  them  at  Exe- 


276  INDIAN   WARS. 

ter;  and,  two  days  afterwards,  Henry  Elkins  fell  at 
Kingston. 

Then  again,  at  OYSTER  RIVER,  a  company  of  men 
were  at  work  in  the  woods,  hewing  timber ;  and  a 
party  of  French  Mohawks,  painted  red,  came  in  upon 
them  with  a  hideous  yell,  and  at  the  first  fire  killed 
seven,  and  mortally  wounded  another.  Capt. 
Chesley  was  among  the  slain. 

During  the  winter  of  1708,  four  hundred  Massa- 
chusetts soldiers  were  posted  within  its  province. 

COL.   WINTHBOP  HILTON. 

This  gallant  officer,  in  1710,  July  22,  was  con- 
cerned in  the  masting  business ;  being  in  the  woods 
fourteen  miles  away  from  his  house  in  Exeter,  was 
ambushed  by  a  party  of  Indians.  Hilton,  with  two 
more,  was  killed  at  the  first  fire.  His  other  men 
escaped.  A  hundred  men  followed  the  next  day  in 
pursuit ;  but  no  Indians  were  seen.  They  had  left 
a  lance  in  the  colonel's  heart.  On  the  same  day  the 
savages  ambushed  the  road  in  Kingston,  and  killed 
Samuel  Winslow  and  Samuel  Huntoon,  and  took 
and  carried  into  Canada  Huntoon  and  Oilman. 

In  the  spring  of  1711  the  tribes  renewed  their 
ravages  on  the  frontier;  and  Thomas  Downs,  John 
Church,  and  three  others,  were  killed  at  Cocheco ; 
and  several  were  assaulted  on  their  way  from 


A   BATTLE  AT  THE  DOOR.  277 

church.     And  from  this,  conflicts  most  cruel  contin- 
ued uj)  to  July  17,  1713. 

THE  OLD  DOOR  IN  DEERFIELD. 

On  the  night  of  Feb.  29, 1704,  Major  Hertel  de 
Rouville,  with  three  hundred  and  forty-two  French 
and  Indians,  fell  in  upon  Deerfield,  entered  its  fort, 
embracing  the  church  and  several  dwelling-houses 
\hen  unguarded,  and  massacred  many,  and  carried 
others  away.  At  the  onset  Rev.  Mr.  Williams 
tseized  his  pistol :  it  missed  fire,  and  was  knocked 
aside.  Two  of  his  children  and  servant  were  mur- 
dered. He  and  five  of  his  remaining  children  were 
marched  away  into  captivity.  His  wife,  two  days 
afterwards,  was  slain  in  Greenfield. 

Two  years  after  this  a  flag-ship,  sent  from  Quebec 
to  Boston,  brought  back  Mr.  Williams,  his  four  chil- 
dren, and  fifty-two  other  redeemed  captives.  As  it 
happened,  one  of  his  children  inclined  to  remain 
there,  grew  up  among  the  Indians,  accepted  one  of 
them  as  a  husband,  and  in  later  years  once  or  twice 
visited  her  early  home  in  Massachusetts. 

In  this  attack  upon  Deerfield  (Mr.  Nason  says), 
the  Indians,  cutting  a  hole  through  the  door  of  Mr. 
Sheldon's  house,  fired  at  and  killed  Mrs.  Sheldon 
just  as  she  was  rising  from  her  bed. 

The  old  door  of  this  house  now  hangs,  enclosed  m 


278  INDIAN   WARS. 

a  frame  of  chestnut,  in  the  hall  of  the  Pecomtuc 
House.  , 

The  peasant-bard  of  Gill  thus  speaks  of  it :  — 

"  Bless  thee,  old  relic !  —  old  and  brave  and  scarred ; 
And  bless  old  Deerfield,  —  says  the  grandson  bard. 
Towns  may  traditions  have,  by  error  spun  : 
She  has  the  door  of  history  ;  that's  the  one." 

At  Worcester,  in  1704,  an  invasion  was  made  by  the 
tribes.  The  inhabitants  deserted  the  town  ;  and  the 
wife  of  Dickory  Sargent  became  a  captive,  and  was 
carried  away.  Years  before  this  the  place  had  been 
noted :  the  Indians  here  had  been  interviewed  by 
the  apostle  Eliot  and  by  G-ookin  ;  and  then  again,  in 
Philip's  time,  Pakachoag  had  been  visited  by  King 
Philip,  while  inducing  the  Indians  to  take  up  arms 
against  the  white  men. 

In  1704  Caleb  Lyman  at  Cowwassuck  on  the 
Connecticut,  with  one  Englishman  and  five  Mohegan 
Indians,  killed  eight  hostile  warriors  out  of  nine.  The 
Assembly  for  this  gave  him  thirty-one  pounds. 

In  this  same  year,  May  24,  East  Hampton  (Passa- 
comuck)  was  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  and  about 
twenty  persons  killed. 

In  1706  a  party  of  Indians,  visiting  Reading,  killed 
a  woman  and  three  of  her  children ;  and  carried  her 
other  children,  five  in  number,  into  captivity. 


A  PREMIUM  FOR   SCALPS.  279 

On  the  18th  of  August,  1707,  a  party  of  twenty 
four  Indians  from  the  forest  appeared  to  Mrs.  Mary 
Fay  and  Mary  Goodnow,  while  gathering  herbs  in  a 
meadow.  Mrs.  Fay  took  to  a  garrison  near  by,  and 
assisted  in  defending  it  until  the  men  in  the  fiek; 
came  to  their  relief. 

The  next  day,  in  Sterling,  the  same  tribe  invaded 
the  town,  and  "  got  the  worst  of  it : "  nine  of  them 
were  killed.  In  their  packs  was  found  the  scalp  of 
the  unfortunate  Miss  Goodnow,  whose  lameness  pre- 
vented an  escape.  Her  lonely  grave  is  still  to  be 
recognized  near  the  place  where  she  fell. 

At  this  time  the  premiums  for  Indian  scalps  and 
captives  had  been  advanced  by  the  Assembly,  per 
piece,  to  impressed  men  ten  pounds,  to  volunteers 
twenty  pounds,  to  volunteers  serving  without  pay 
fifty  pounds,  with  the  benefit  of  captives  and  plun- 
der. And  Capt.  Rowe  was  sent  to  Port  Royal, 
N.S.,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  to  negotiate  for  prisoners. 

Capt.  Sheldon  was  also  sent  there  twice  for  the 
same  purpose. 

Col.  Hilton,  with  two  hundred  and  twenty  men, 
was  also  sent  away  to  the  eastern  frontiers.  He 
killed  many  Indians. 

The  colonel  was  himself  killed  by  the  Indians  in 
1711,  in  Exeter. 

At  this  time  Col.  Church,  March  13,  1707,  sailed 


280  INDIAN   WARS. 

east  with  two  regiments  to  the  same  end.  He  ob- 
tained many  prisoners. 

And  then  Col.  Hilton,  with  a  hundred  and  seventy 
men,  proceeded  to  Amarasconti  and  Pequawket. 

In  the  spring  of  1708,  eight  hundred  French  and 
Indians  invaded  New  England;  but,  disagreeing 
among  themselves,  some  of  them  returned  back :  the 
others  fell  in  upon  Haverhill  and  other  places,  as  we 
have  noticed. 

In  1711,  near  Exeter,  Col.  Winthrop  Hilton,  with 
two  others,  was  slain  by  the  Indians  in  the  woods : 
near  Exeter  two  others  were  taken.  The  next  day 
one  hundred  men  followed  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians  ; 
but  they  could  not  be  traced.  Soon  they  appeared 
again  in  the  streets  at  Exeter,  took  captive  four 
children  and  John  Wedgwood,  and  murdered  John 
Magoon;  and  again  at  Cocheco  they  killed  Jacob 
Garland  while  on  his  return  from  worship. 

In  the  winter  Col.  Walton,  with  170  men,  traversed 
the  eastern  shores,  which  were  usually  sought  at  that 
season  by  the  Indians  to  obfain  clams. 

Some  of  the  tribe,  mistaking  Walton's  encamp- 
ment at  night,  came  near,  and  were  taken  prisoners. 
One  of  them  was  a  sachem  of  Norridgewock,  active, 
sullen,  bold.  He  would  make  no  discoveries,  and 
was  slain.  Upon  this  his  squaw  and  two  others 
piloted  the  colonel  to  Saco  River,  where  he  overtook 


A  BRIEF   SUSPENSION.  281 

five  Indians,  and  slew  them  all :  also  on  the  way  he 
took  two  prisoners  under  her  lead.  Thomas  Downs, 
John  Church,  and  three  others  were  killed  at  Cocheco ; 
and  on  the  sabbath,  as  the  people  were  returning 
from  church,  Humphrey  Foss  was  taken  captive, 
and  John  Horn  was  wounded. 

Walton,  with  two  companies,  advanced  to  the 
ponds  in  the  fishing  season ;  but  the  Indians  had  de 
serted  their  wigwams. 

In  Chelmsford  Major  Tyng  was  killed  ;  and  inar- 
ders  by  the  Indians  were  happening  in  other  places. 

SUSPENSION    OP   HOSTILITIES. 

News  now  came  of  the  suspension  of  arms  be- 
tween England  and  France;  and  the  Indians  ap- 
plied for  an  accommodation. 

In  1713,  July  11,  the  New-England  Colonies  held 
at  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  a  congress  with  the  tribes. 

The  basis  of  this  treaty  was  the  same  as  that  at 
Penobscot,  Aug.  11,  1693 ;  in  which  one  of  the  arti- 
cles provides,  that,  in  case  of  a  difficulty  between 
the  English  and  the  tribe,  the  matter  must  be  set- 
tled by  an  English  court. 

This  conference  included,  as  appears,  the  St.  Johns, 
the  Penobscots,  Kennebecks,  Ammoscoggins,  Sacos, 
Merrimacks.  Mauxis  was  their  chief. 


282  INDIAN   WARS. 

The  tribes  usually  took  the  names  of  the  rivers 
along  which  they  hunted  and  obtained  their  fish. 

HOSTILITIES   AGAIN. 

In  1717  the  Indians  began  to  murmur;  and,  after 
giving  the  settlers  warning  to  leave  their  lands,  ad- 
vanced to  the  killing  of  cattle,  and  to  other  tres- 
passes ;  and  in  1719  the  French  again  urged  them 
to  renew  and  set  up  their  claims  to  the  lands  of  New 
England. 

But  to  a  considerable  extent  thus  far  they  are 
kept  in  awe  of  the  English. 

In  1719  (Shute  and  Dummer's  time)  the  French 
again  urged  the  Indians  to  set  up  claims  to  New- 
England  territory,  and  proceeded  to  aid  them  in 
trespasses ;  but  the  English,  with  their  allied  tribes, 
soon  discouraged  them. 

In  1720  the  Indians  are  urged  on  again,  and  com- 
mence to  kill  cattle,  committing  depredations  gener- 
ally; but  Col.  Walton,  with  two  hundred  men, 
advancing  against  them,  brought  them  to  submission, 
and  obtained  hostages  for  their  good  behavior. 

About  this  time  the  small-pox  prevailed,  which 
always  operated  as  a  terror  to  the  tribes  of  New 
England.  It  tended  to  retard  the  general  progress 
of  hostilities. 

In   1721  M.  Croizer  is  sent  here  from  Canada, 


PARSON   KALLE,   THE  JESUIT.  283 

M.  St.  Casteen  from  Penobscot,  and  Ralld  and  De 
la  Chasse  (French  missionaries),  with  about  three 
hundred  Indians,  who  made  their  appearance  at  Saga- 
dahock  (Kennebeck),  with  threats  that  if  the  English 
did  not  remove  from  the  lands  claimed  by  the 
tribes,  within  three  weeks,  they  would  kill  the  in- 
habitants, and  burn  their  houses  down. 

On  June  13,  1722,  the  French  and  Indians  began 
in  good  earnest,  and  captivated  Love,  Hamilton,  Han- 
said,  Trescot,  undJEdgar.  Thereupon  by  the  assembly 
in  Boston  in  the  following  July  they  were  declared 
rebels,  and  were  proceeded  against  accordingly. 

Parson  Halle,  a  missionary  and  Jesuit  at  Canada, 
about  this  time  was  telling  the  Indians  that  the  lands 
of  New  England  "  were  given  them  of  Grod,  to  them 
and  their  children  forever,  according  to  the  Christian 
sacred  oracles." 

BOUNTY. 

In  1722,  July  5,  the  government  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  proclaimed  the  invaders  to  be  rebels, 
and  ordered  a  bounty  of  £1 00  per  scalp  to  be  paid  to 
volunteers  fitted  out  at  their  own  charge  ;  and  after- 
wards it  added  and  offered  four  shillings  a  day 
besides. 

Soon  after  this  Capt.  Hanson  on  the  Kennebeck 
slew  several  Indians ;  and  many  other  captains  ad- 
vanced in  search  of  the  wigwams  of  the  wilderness. 


284  INDIAN   WARS. 

About  this  time  (1722),  at  Arrowsick,  a  body  of 
Indians  killed  several  people,  burned  sixty  dwelling- 
houses,  and  destroyed  fifty  cattle.  They  failed  in 
their  attempts  upon  the  English  forts  at  Richmond  on 
the  Kennebeck,  and  at  St.  George  near  the  Penobscot. 
Yet  they  surprised  sixteen  fishing-vessels  at  Canso. 

In  1723,  Aug.  13,  in  Northfield  (Squakeag),  two 
men  were  killed  by  the  Indians ;  and  in  October 
an  attack  was  made  on  their  block-house,  and  several 
others  were  slain;  and,  as  late  as  1748,  Anson 
Bolding  was  slain  there  by  the  Indians.  Here  it  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  Capt.  Richard  Beers  with  thirty- 
six  men  fell  into  an  ambuscade  in  1675,  and  only 
sixteen  of  them  escaped  after  a  desperate  battle. 
On  the  previous  day  ten  men  by  the  same  Indians 
had  been  slain  there  in  the  woods. 

ANOTHEB  ALLIANCE. 

On  Aug.  21, 1723,  sixty-three  Indians  from  the  six 
New- York  nations  visited  Boston,  proposing  an 
alliance  against  the  eastern  Indians ;  their  real 
object  in  this  being  to  obtain  presents.  They,  how- 
ever, did  not  obtain  many. 

FATHER  RALL12   SLAIN. 

In  1724,  Aug.  12,  a  battlo  was  had  at  Norridge- 
wock  on  the  Kennebeck  River. 


KALLE'S  MONUMENT  AT  NOBKIDGEWOCK,  ME.,  page  284. 


BALLE  AND  OTHERS   SLAIN.  285 

Capt.  Harmon,  with  two  hundred  men  in  seven- 
teen whale-boats,  had  moved  up  the  Kennebeck  River. 
He  surprised  the  Indians  there,  took  twenty-six 
scalps  to  be  seen  in  Boston,  among  which  was  that 
of  "  Father  Ralld,"  whose  reckless  advice  had  led  to 
much  of  the  bloodshed  along  the  frontiers  of  New 
England. 

The  Indians  killed  and  drowned  in  their  attempt 
to  cross  the  river,  in  that  battle,  were  computed  to 
be  not  less  than  eighty. 

Belknap  says,  "In  that  battle  they  completely 
invested  and  surprised  the  village,  killed  the  ob- 
noxious Jesuit  with  about  eighty  of  his  Indians, 
recovered  three  captives,  destroyed  the  chapel,  and 
brought  away  the  plate  and  furniture  of  the  altar, 
with  the  devotional  flag,  as  trophies  of  their  victory." 

Ralle*  was  then  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age, 
and  had  resided  in  his  mission  at  Norridgewock 
twenty-six  years,  having  previously  spent  six  years 
hi  travelling  among  the  Indian  nations  in  the 
interior  of  the  American  Continent. 

Oft  thus  the  powers  with  England  disagree, 
Which  does  portend  what  carnage  hence  shall  be, 
What  man's  estate  must  prove,  —  a  varied  life. 
From  quiet  peace  proceeds  terrific  strife ; 
From  plenty,  dearth  ;  from  faith  and  virtue,  sin  ; 


285  INDIAN   WARS. 

From  health,  disease,  that  wages  war  within. 
Thus  strangely  intermixed  are  good  and  ill, 
True  to  the  purpose  of  a  sovereign  Will : 
Nature  but  thrives  by  fire  that  burns  within : 
From  planets  broken  other  worlds  begin ; 
Yet  bloody  conflicts,  such  the  world  abhor 
As  mark  the  advent  of  avenging  war  — 
Enough — enough !   yet  others  still  there  were 
Of  blood  profuse.     'Tis  man's  estate  to  err : 
Let  pass  Queen  Anne's,  the  troubles  of  her  day ; 
The  craft  of  "Jesuits,  fruitful  of  dismay; 
Nor  need  to  note  the  French  and  Indian  strife, 
Nor  trace  the  torch,  the  tomahawk,  and  knife 
Farther.     'Tis  now  the  olive-branch  divine 
We  seek,  —  its  beauteous  benefits  benign. 

From  my  Merrimadc,  p.  ft 


l 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BATTLE   OF  PEQTJAWKET. 

The  Conflict  of  Fifty  Years.  —  Its  Inroads  upon  Civilization. — The 
Eventful  Issues  of  1725  still  Pending.  —  Capt.  Lovewell  and  his 
Forty-six  Men. — His  Fourteen  Survivors  pensioned.  — Paugus  of 
Pequawket  slain.  —  The  Battle  poetized  of  Old.  —  An  Ancient 
Battle,  as  from  Tradition.  —  Depredations  at  Pennacook.  — Gar- 
rison, and  how  Constructed.  —  Eruptions  as  started  from 
Abroad.  —  Numerous  Tribes  allied  to  the  French.  —  Inroads 
upon  the  New-England  Frontiers.  —  Beckoning  of  Dates.  — 
Expeditions  against  New  England.  —  War  of  1744.  —  Detach- 
ments sent  out.  —  Bounties  allowed.  —  Donahew's  Expedition. 
—  Conference  at  Albany.  —  Successive  Invasions. 

former  chapters  we  have  endeavored  to 
give  somewhat  in  detail,  as  they  had  trans- 
pired, the  various  leading  eruptions,  conflicts, 
and  depredations,  which,  as  between  the 
English  and  the  native  Indians  in  NCAV  Eng- 
land, hitherto  have  happened.  Up  to  this  period,  fifty 
years  had  elapsed  since  King  Philip  at  Mount  Hope 
had  raised  the  battle-axe  in  behalf  of  his  native  soil 
and  in  behalf  of  his  then  dying  race  of  red  men. 
Philip  died  then :  still,  plain  to  be  seen,  the  hatchet 
was  not  buried.  And  sad  to  relate,  although  the 
white  race  were  destined  in  the  end,  as  it  were, 


288  INDIAN  WARS. 

by  brute  force  to  prevail,  barbarism,  for  the  time 
being,  as  against  civilization,  had  been  suffered  to 
gain  the  mastery.  Fifty  years  of  bloody  conflicts 
had  made  terrible  havoc  with  the  minds  and  morals 
of  men,  wherein  a  pure  religion  and  a  well-tutored 
civilization  were  of  but  little  use,  other  than  to 
sharpen  the  arrows  which  brought  to  an  untimely 
grave  thousands  of  innocent  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. 

How  could  such  a  conflict,  wherein  law  and  reli- 
gion for  so  long  a  period  were  substantially  laid  aside, 
do  otherwise  than  to  misguide  and  betray  the  public 
mind  into  the  commission  of  devilish  deeds  ?  Hence 
the  hanging  of  witches  and  of  Quakers  were  but 
legitimate  offshoots  from  the  bloody  barbarisms  in 
New  England,  which,  in  spite  of  law  and  religion, 
had  sprung  forth,  producing  dreadful  devastation  on 
the  right  hand  and  on  the  left, —  mutual  barbarisms, 
which,  taking  a  rabid  form,  worked  inconceivable 
mischief  ir  almost  every  direction.  And  yet  when 
New  England  came  out  of  its  terrible  trial,  having 
learned  much  from  the  wars  and  bloodshed  of  tragic 
years,  it  thenceforth  made  haste  to  perfect  itself  in 
the  organization  of  a  noble,  generous  civilization, 
which  at  this  time  is  every  day  exemplified  through 
its  thriving  municipal  corporations,  as  well  as  by 
individuals,  in  liberal  laws  and  magnanimous  deeds. 


BATTLE   AT   THE   POND.  289 

LOVEWELL. 

We  come  now  to  other  conflicts. 

Capt.  John  Lovewell  of  Dunstable,  previous  to 
this  time,  had  raised  a  company  of  thirty  volunteers, 
and  had  advanced  north  of  the  Lake  Winnipi- 
seogee,  and,  finding  an  Indian  and  boy  in  a  wig- 
wam, killed  the  Indian,  and,  keeping  the  boy,  brought 
him  alive  to  Boston,  and  thereupon  received  the 
legal  bounty  as  well  as  a  gratuity  from  the  gov- 
ernment. 

Upon  another  excursion  he  proceeded  with  seventy 
men  to  the  same  place  in  the  forest  above  the  Lake ; 
but  for  the  want  of  provisions  thirty  of  his  men 
thence  returned.  The  remainder  of  them  advanced 
into  the  deep  forest,  where  they  discovered  a  tribe 
encamped  for  the  night.  Concealing  themselves, 
they  remained;  and  at  midnight,  by  the  side  of  a 
frozen  pond,  they  fell  in  with  the  Indians.  Lovewell 
fired  first,  killing  two.  Five  others  fired  instantly, 
and  then  the  rest  fired  ;  and  but  one  Indian  remained 
alive.  He,  wounded,  tried  to  escape,  but,  followed 
by  the  dog,  was  held  fast  until  they  killed  him. 
This  was  at  a  place  now  knovrn  as  Lovewell's  Pond, 
in  Wakefield,  N.H.,  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
branches  of  Salmon  Falls  River. 

This  "brave  company  on  Feb.  24,  1725  [says 
Belknap],  with  the  ten  scalps  stretched  on  hoops, 


290  INDIAN   WARS. 

and  elevated  on  poles,  entered  Dover  (Cocheco)  in 
triumph,  and  proceeded  thence  to  Boston:  there 
they  received  the  bounty  of  one  hundred  pounds  for 
each,  out  of  the  public  treasury." 

On  the  16th  of  April,  Capt.  Lovewell,  raising 
another  company,  forty-six  men,  including  a  chap- 
lain and  surgeon,  advanced  again  into  the  north-east. 
Two  of  the  men  becoming  lame,  and  one  falling 
sick,  and  the  surgeon,  were  left  behind  in  a  stockade 
fort,  on  the  west  side  of  the  great  Ossapee  Pond ;  and 
eight  of  the  men  were  also  left  there  as  a  guard. 
The  remaining  thirty-four  men,  led  by  Lovewell, 
advanced  onward  about  twenty-two  miles,  and  en- 
camped on  the  shore  of  a  pond.  At  their  devotions 
in  the  morning,  they  heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  and 
discovered  an  Indian  on  a  point  of  land  extending 
into  the  pond  nearly  a  mile  away.  Upon  consulta- 
tion they  marched  off  in  direction  of  the  Indian, 
after  disencumbering  themselves  of  their  knapsacks, 
leaving  them  at  the  north-east  end  of  the  pond  with- 
out a  guard.  It  happened  that  Lovewell's  march 
had  crossed  a  carrying-place  wherein  Paugus  and 
Wahwa,  with  forty-ofie  warriors  from  Saco  River, 
were  returning  to  the  lower  village  of  Pequawket, 
distant  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  this  pond. 

They  traced  Lovewell's  track  back  to  their  packs  ; 
and  counting  them,  and  ascertaining  that  the  num- 


LOVEWELL'S  LAST  BATTLE.  291 

ber  was  less  than  their  own,  they  placed  themselves 
in  ambush  to  await  their  return. 

The  Indian  who  had  stood  on  the  point  of  land, 
while  now  returning  to  the  village,  received  their 
fire,  returned  it  with  small  shot,  wounding  Lovewell 
and  one  of  his  men. 

Lieut.  Wyman,  firing  again,  killed  him  ;  and  they 
took  his  scalp.  And  now  returning  to  obtain  their 
packs,  the  Indians  arose,  and  fired  upon  them,  rais- 
ing a  terrific  yell.  Capt.  Lovewell  and  eight  others 
were  at  once  killed :  Lieut.  Farwell  and  two  others 
were  wounded.  Several  of  the  Indians  fell ;  but, 
seeing  their  superiority  of  numbers,  Lovewell's  men 
took  positions  behind  rocks  and  trees.  On  their 
right  was  the  mouth  of  a  brook ;  on  their  left  was  a 
rocky  point ;  their  front  was  covered  partly  by  a  deep 
bog,  with  the  pond  in  their  rear :  there  they  kept 
up  their  fire  for  a  long  time.  Jonathan  Frye, 
Ensign  Robbins,  and  one  more  were  at  length  mor- 
tally wounded ;  and  yet  they  continued  the  battle 
until  the  Indians  near  night  left  the  ground,  carrying 
off  their  killed  and  wounded,  and  leaving  the  dead 
bodies  of  Lovewell  and  his  men  unscalped. 

Of  the  remnant  of  this  brave  company,  three 
were  unable  to  move  from  the  spot,  eleven  were 
wounded  but  able  to  march,  and  nine  had  re- 
ceived no  injury.  It  was  sad  to  leave  their 


292  INDIAN   WARS. 

wounded  companions  behind  them,  in  the  wilderness ; 
but  the  fates  had  so  ordered  it.  One  of  them, 
Ensign  Robbins,  desired  them  to  lay  his  gun  beside 
him,  charged,  so  that,  if  the  Indians  should  return 
before  his  death,  he  might  be  able  to  kill  one  more. 

It  was  the  8th  of  May,  at  night.  The  moon  had 
cast  its  light  upon  the  fatal  spot  when  they  left  it, 
and  directed  their  march  toward  the  fort  where  the 
surgeon  and  guard  had  been  left.  Lieut.  Farwell  and 
the  chaplain,  and  one  other  wounded,  perished  in  the 
woods.  The  others,  after  suffering  the  most  severe 
hardships,  came  in  one  after  another. 

A  generous  provision  was  made  for  the  widows 
and  children  of  the  slain ;  lands  by  the  Common- 
wealth were  given  to  the  survivors  of  Lovewell's 
company,  one  tract  of  which  now  takes  the  name 
of  Pembroke,  N.H.  Immediately  afterward  Col. 
Tyng  of  Dunstable  visited  that  battle-ground,  found 
and  buried  the  bodies  of  twelve  of  the  company, 
carved  their  names  upon  the  trees,  and  then  again 
left  them  alone  in  the  dark,  deep  forest  to  a  sweet 
repose. 

Under  the  management  of  Gov.  Dummer's  admin- 
istration, the  Indians,  on  Dec.  15,  1725,  begged  and 
obtained  a  cessation  of  hostilities ;  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing May,  at  Casco,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  agreed 
upon,  wherein  the  Indians  were  to  have  all  their 


ANOTHER  TREATY.  203 

lands  "  not  hitherto  conveyed,"  with  the  privilege  of 
hunting  and  fishing  as  formerly.  This  was  signed  by 
the  government,  and  by  the  Norridgewock,  Penob- 
scot,  St.  Johns,  and  Cape  Sable  Indians,  as  repre- 
sented by  their  several  sagamores.  Arid  this  treaty 
was  ratified  Aug.  5,  1726. 

BETTER  DAYS. 

Then  Peace,  that  welcome  harbinger  of  health. 

Of  generous  thrift,  foreshadowing  weal  and  wealth, 

Brings  her  glad  tidings  down,  and  cheers  the  land 

With  prompt  good  will,  and  noble  deeds  at  hand, 

To  heal  the  broken  heart,  to  make  amends 

For  wilful  waste,  which  from  the  past  descends. 

Thence  this  fair  vale  from  mountain  to  the  main 

In  vernal  grandeur  buds  to  bloom  again ; 

And  plenteous  harvest  with  her  golden  ears, 

Crowning  the  prudence  of  progressive  years, 

Adorns  the  field,  and  grace  triumphant  gives 

To  honest  toil.  My  Merrimack,  p.  32. 

Belknap  says,  "  This  account  of  Lovewell's  battle 
is  collected  from  the  authorities  (cited  in  the  mar- 
gin), and  from  the  verbal  information  of  aged  and 
intelligent  persons.  The  names  of  the  dead  on  the 
trees,  and  the  holes  where  the  balls- had  entered 
and  had  been  cut  out,  were  plainly  visible  when 
I  was  on  the  spot  in  1784.  The  trees  had  the  ap- 


294  INDIAN   WAES. 

pearance  of  being  very  old ;  and  one  of  them  was 
fallen." 

Col.  Tyng,  while  upon  the  battle-ground,  dug  up 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  Indians,  among  which  he  identi- 
fied that  of  Paugus,  chief  of  the  Pequawkets,  who 
had  fallen  at  the  first  shot  in  the  engagement.  Four- 
teen only,  out  of  the  forty-six  who  left  Dunstable, 
lived  to  reach  home. 

The  Indians  centred  no  more  at  Pequawket  dur- 
ing the  Indian  wars. 

This  battle,  with  its  heroes,  was  poetized  at  that 
distant  day ;  and  we  will  try  to  interest  the  reader 
in  a  biief  quotation. 


"  Up  then  the  tribes  to  battle  rose, 

Who'd  hid  themselves  in  ambush  dread; 

Their  knives  they  shook;  their  guns  they  aimed, - 
The  famous  Paugus  at  their  head. 

Thus  Paugus  led  the  Pequawket  tribe; 

As  runs  the  fox  would  Paugus  run; 
As  howls  the  wild  wolf  would  he  howl : 

A  huge  bear-skin  had  Paugus  on. 

But  Chamberlain  of  Dunstable, — 
He  whom  a  savage  ne'er  could  slay, 

Met  Paugus  by  the  water-side, 
And  shot  him  dead  upon  that  day. 


BATTLE   AT   PENNACOOK.  295 

Then  did  the  crimson  streams  that  flowed 

Seem  like  the  waters  of  the  brook, 
That  brightly  shine,  that  loudly  dash 

Far  down  the  cliffs  of  Agio-chook. 

Ah  I  many  a  wife  shall  rend  her  hair, 
And  many  a  child  cry, '  Woe  be  me  1 ' 

When  messengers  the  news  shall  bear 
Of  Lovewell  's  dear-bought  victory." 

DUNSTABLE,  AND  THE  PENNACOOK  BATTLE. 

Lovewell's  home,  as  we  have  seen,  was  at  old 
Dunstable,  within  the  dominions  formerly  of  Pas- 
saconaway  and  of  the  peaceful  Pennacooks. 

Attendant  upon  this  ancient  town,  are  many 
memories.  History  as  well  as  tradition  follows  it. 
Around  it  on  either  side,  as  well  as  within  its  lines, 
we  now  trace  out,  as  it  were,  the  ancient  landmarks 
left  us  by  Eliot  the  Apostle  and  by  the  peaceful 
Passaconaway.  Before  their  time  Indian  wars  had 
prevailed  in  this  region,  as  we  have  seen.  And  at 
one  time,  as  tradition  has  it,  there  was  a  great  battle 
at  Pennacook  (now  Concord,  N.H.),  between  the 
Massachusetts,  Pawtuckets,  and  Pennacook  tribes, 
and  the  angry  Mohawks  from  the  eastern  borders  of 
New  York.  Of  this  conflict  Dr.  Bouton  says,  "  the 
Mohawks,  who  had  once  been  repulsed  by  the  Penna- 
cooks, came  witli  a  strong  force,  and  encamped  at 


296  INDIAN  WARS. 


what  is  now  called  Fort  Eddy,  opposite  Sugar 
on  the  west  of  the  river.  Thence  they  watched 
their  prey,  determined  either  to  starve  the  Penna- 
cooks  by  a  siege,  or  to  decoy  them  out  and  destroy 
them. 

"  Having  gathered  their  corn  for  the  season,  and 
stored  it  in  baskets  around  the  walls  of  their  fort, 
the  Pennacooks,  with  their  women  and  children, 
entered  within,  and  bade  defiance  to  their  foes." 
Skirmishes  often  ensued.  Whenever  a  Pennacook  left 
the  fort  he  was  ambushed.  If  a  canoe  pushed  off 
from  the  bank,  another  from  the  opposite  side  started 
in  pursuit.  The  Pennacooks  would  not  venture  an 
open  fight  in  the  field  ;  nor  did  the  Mohawks  dare  to 
assail  the  fort.  At  length  one  day  a  solitary  Mohawk 
was  seen  carelessly  crossing  Sugar  Ball  Plain  south 
of  the  fort.  Caught  by  the  decoy,  the  Pennacooks 
rushed  out  in  pursuit  :  the  Mohawk  ran  for  the  river. 
Band  after  band  from  the  fort  followed  in  the  chase  till 
all  were  drawn  out  of  the  fort,  when  the  Mohawks, 
secretly  crossing  the  river  above,  having  approached 
in  the  rear,  and  secreted  themselves,  now  sud- 
denly sprang  from  their  hiding-places,  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  fort.  At  this  a  terrible  war-whoop 
went  up  from  the  Pennacooks.  They  turned  back  ; 
"  and  long  and  bloody  was  the  battle."  The  fight 
by  the  Pennacooks  was  "for  their  wives  and  children, 


MOHAWKS  DEFEATED.  297 

for  their  old  men,  for  their  corn,  and  for  life  itself: " 
by  the  Mohawks  it  was  "/or  revenge  and  for  plun- 
der." 

How  the  victory  turned  does  not  appear:  yet 
tradition  has  it  that  "  the  Mohawks  left  their  dead 
and  wounded  on  the  ground,"  and  that  the  Penna- 
cook  tribes  were  greatly  reduced  in  numbers.  A 
diversity  in  the  skulls  which  used  to  be  found  there 
induces  the  belief  that  their  dead  were  buried  pro- 
miscuously. 

This  slaughter  in  the  olden  time,  and  that  which 
followed  it  in  1617,  attended  by  the  plague,  of 
which  we  have  spoken  in  another  chapter,  were  the 
only  great  battles  among  the  tribes  which  happened 
prior  to  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  of  which  tra- 
dition gives  any  account:  all  others  prior  to  1617 
being  covered  of  oblivion. 

All  the  way  along  from  1739  to  1754,  there  were 
great  apprehensions  of  trouble  from  the  Indians  in 
the  vicinity  of  Pennacook,  caused  in  those  years 
mostly  by  intrusions  from  Canada ;  and  many  garri- 
sons were  built. 

In  1742  Jonathan  Eastman's  wife  was  carried 
away  captive,  but  was  afterwards  redeemed. 

In  1744,  at  the  opening  of  the  French  War,  the 
alarm  to  the  Colonies  was  increased. 

At  that  time,  Capt.  Ebenezer  Eastman  raised  a 


298  INDIAN    WARS. 

company  of  soldiers,  and  advanced  against  the  for- 
tress at  Louisburg ;  and  Pennacook  (since  Rumford, 
now  Concord)  was  kept  constantly  on  the  alert  for 
fear  of  invasions.  The  Massachusetts  Government, 
in  1745,  sent  detachments  there  from  Andover  and 
from  Billerica,  to  assist,  if  need  be,  in  its  defence. 

Also,  in  1746,  Capt.  Daniel  Ladd  and  Lieut.  Jona- 
than Bradley,  with  a  company  of  soldiers  from  Exe- 
ter, were  sent  by  the  governor  for  the  defence  of 
Rumford  and  the  neighboring  towns. 

MASSACRE  AT  RUMFORD. 

On  the  10th  and  llth  of  August,  1746,  Lieut. 
Bradley  took  seven  men,  and  proceeded  about  two 
and  a  half  miles  to  a  town  garrison:  at  about 
one  and  a  half  miles  away,  they  were  fired  upon 
by  thirty  or  forty  Indians;  and  Lieut.  John  Luf- 
Icin,  John  Bean,  and  Obadiah  Peters  were  killed. 
Alexander  Roberts  and  William  Stickney  were  taken 
prisoners. 

The  minute  details  of  all  these  events  are  more 
fully  given  in  Mr.  Bouton's  excellent  "  History  of 
Concord." 

GARRISONS. 

Under  the  authority  of  Gov.  Wentworth,  .addi- 
tional garrison-houses  were  established  in  various 
places. 


GARRISONS,   HOW   MADE.  299 

In  Pennacook  there  were  seven  in  1746. 

They  were  usually  made  up  of  "hewed  logs 
which  lay  flat  upon  each  other :  the  ends,  being  fitted 
for  the  purpose,  were  inserted  in  grooves  cut  in 
large  posts  erected  at  each  corner.  They  usually 
enclosed  an  area  of  several  square  rods ; "  were 
about  the  same  height  as  a  common  dwelling-house. 
At  two  or  more  of  the  corners  were  projections  (in 
box-form),  wherein  the  sentinels  kept  watch  by  day 
and  night. 

In  times  of  danger,  all  the  houses  not  connected 
with  the  garrisons  were  usually  deserted  of  the 
household,  and  were  without  furniture. 

If  the  enemy  approached,  alarm-guns  were  fired ; 
and  the  report  was  answered  from  fort  to  fort.  In 
the  house  of  worship,  the  men,  with  their  powder- 
horns  upon  their  shoulders,  stacked  their  guns  in 
the  centre  of  it;  "while  the  parson,  having  the 
best  gun  in  the  parish  by  his  side,  advanced  to  his 
preaching  and  prayer."  —  BOUTON. 

CONFLICTS  :    1743-1748. 

The  Indian  eruptions,  depredations,  and  inva- 
sions in  New  England,  upon  its  English  settlements, 
which  transpired  between  the  years  1743  and  1748, 
were  too  numerous  to  be  detailed  very  minutely  in 
these  annals. 


COO  INDIAN   WARS. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  the  oft-repeated 
intrusions  of  the  white  man,  and  particularly  the 
conflicts  which  occasionally  came  to  pass  in  the 
Old  World,  were  always  to  be  regarded  as  the  har- 
bingers of  depredations,  violence,  danger,  and  death 
in  the  New. 

In  Canada,  at  this  bloody  period,  the  French  had 
five  hundred  Indians  at  their  immediate  control,  in- 
dependent of  more  distant  allies,  as  follows :  — 

The  Cacknawages,  two  hundred  and  thirty ;  Con- 
nestagoes,  sixty ;  Attenkins,  thirty ;  Neperinks, 
thirty ;  Missequecks,  forty ;  Abenaquis  at  St.  Fran- 
ces, ninety ;  Obenacks  at  Becancourt,  fifty ;  Hurons 
at  Lorette,  forty. 

Ever  jealous  of  the  English,  and  entertaining  a 
deep  interest  to  appropriate  these  domains  to  them- 
selves as  a  distinct  race,  and  having  an  abiding  alli- 
ance, in  their  marriages  and  in  their  traffic,  with  the 
tribes,  those  French  leaders  controlled  the  masses, 
and  from  time  to  time  urged  them  forward  to  deeds 
of  blood  throughout  the  English  frontiers. 

Hence  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  the  Districts  of 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  constantly 
suffered  more  or  less  in  all  their  settlements ;  as  well 
as  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  to  whose  Indian 
battles  we  have  already  adverted. 

Aside  from  their  Indian  tribes,  the  French  force 


RECKONING  OF  TIME.  SOI 

in  Canada  had  nearly  thirteen  thousand  of  their 
own  race,  all  ready  and  able  to  bear  arms. 

At  that  date,  the  then  Territory  of  Massachusetts 
contained  a  thin  population  of  only  two  hundred 
thousand,  many  of  its  inhabitants  living  in  lonely 
cots,  hemmed  in  by  the  old  native  forest :  others 
lived  in  little  villages,  few  and  far  between. 

My  friend  Drake,  the  historian  of  "  long  ago,"  esti- 
mated the  New-England  population  of  that  time  at 
four  hundred  thousand. 

In  this  place,  it  may  be  of  use  to  the  young 
reader  to  understand  the  mode  in  which  our  time  is 
reckoned,  as  by  the 

OLD  OB  NEW  STYLE. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  English  did 
not  reckon  dates  by  the  Gregorian  calendar  until 
Jan.  22,  1752.  Their  year  previously  had  com- 
menced on  the  25th  of  March. 

Up  to  that  date,  their  rule  or  mode  of  computa- 
tion during  a  long  series  of  years  had,  by  degrees, 
carried  the  winter  too  far  into  the  spring. 

To  remedy  this  irregularity,  Parliament  adopted 
this  new  rule,  ordering  eleven  days  to  be  dropped 
out  from  the  calendar;  so  that,  for  instance,  the 
30th  of  March,  1697  (the  date  of  the  Contoocook 


802  INDIAN   WARS. 

slaughter)  should  in  our  time  be  reckoned  as  the 
eleventh  day  of  April  of  that  year. 

The  French  adopted  the  same  rule  previously. 
Our  dates,  when  taken  from  their  records,  will  of 
course  accord  with  our  own  reckonings  at  the  pres- 
ent day. 

The  war  which  had  broken  out  between  Great 
Britain  and  Spain  involved  France  in  its  flame  ;  and 
in  New  England  it  took  the  name  of  the 

FBENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR. 

The  contest  opened  in  Nova  Scotia,  that  province 
at  first  being  the  debatable  ground.  Such  had  been 
the  invasions,  depredations,  and  murders  by  the 
French  and  their  allied  Indians,  that,  on  the  2d  of 
June,  1744,  our  English  Government  at  Boston  pro- 
claimed war  against  France,  and,  as  a  guard  against 
the  common  enemy,  called  into  the  service  five  hun- 
dred men,  fifty  from  each  of  the  militia  regiments  of 
Pepperell,  Gerish,  Berry,  Plaisted,  Saltonstall,  and 
Phipps,  and  two  hundred  men  for  the  western 
frontier ;  to  wit,  fifty  from  each  of  the  regiments  of 
Chandler,  Ward,  Willard,  and  Stoddard. 

Also  twenty-five  men  were  raised  from  each  of  the 
regiments  of  Wendall  and  G-ouge  at  Boston,  for  re- 
enforcing  the  various  garrisons ;  to  wit,  to  be  sent  to 
George's  Fort  forty  men,  to  Pemaquid  twenty,  to 


GREAT    REWARDS   OFFERED.  303 

Richmond  twenty-five,  to  Brunswick  twelve,  and 
to  Saco  twenty. 

No  detachment  was  made  from  the  militia  of 
the  Plymouth  Colony.  Gunpowder  (ninety-six  bar- 
rels) was  conveyed  to  the  several  townships,  to  be 
sold  to  the  inhabitants  at  prime  cost. 

Other  provisions  were  made  ;  and,  of  course,  many 
other  things  were  clone  in  that  and  other  directions 

In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  the  Cape  Sable 
and  St.  John's  Indians,  having  made  an  attempt  on 
Annapolis,  were  by  the  government  in  Boston  pro- 
claimed rebels.  And  in  November,  1744,  in  and 
over  all  the  territory  east  of  the  River  Passama- 
q  noddy,  they  offered  a  bounty  of  X400,  old  tenor,  to 
be  granted  for  every  scalp  or  captivated  Indian 
obtained ;  and  when  it  was  learned  that  the  Penob- 
scots  and  Norridgewocks  had  joined  them,  then, 
Aug.  23,  1725,  a  declaration  of  war  was  also  ex- 
tended to  them.  Previously  those  Indians  had 
burned  the  fort,  St.  George,  at  Annapolis  Royal,  also 
English  dwelling-houses,  had  murdered  the  master 
of  a  sloop,  and  killed  many  cattle. 

REWARDS. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  1744,  the  General  Court 
enacted  laws  offering  other  premiums  as  follows :  — 

"  To  any  company,  party,  or  person  singly,  of  His  Majesty's 
subjects,  to  or  residing  within  this  pj-ovince,  who  shall  voluti- 


C04  INDIAN    WARS. 

Uvrily,  and  at  their  own  proper  cost  and  charge,  go  out  and  kill 
a  male  Indian  of  the  age  of  twelve  years  or  upwards,  of  the 
Indians  above  named,  after  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  October 
last  past,  and  before  the  last  day  of  June,  1745  (if  the  wai 
lasts  so  long),  anywhere  to  the  east  of  the  Penobscot  beyond  a 
fixed  line,  the  sum  of  £100  in  bills  of  credit,  new  tenor;  and 
£  1 05  for  a  male  Indian  captive  of  the  like  age  ;  and  the  sum 
of  £50  for  women ;  and  the  like  sum  for  children  xmder  the 
age  of  twelve  years  killed  in  fight;  and  £55  for  such  of  them 
as  shall  be  taken  prisoners. 

On  Nov.  2,  1744,  the  "  precise  line  "  above  named, 
to  the  east  of  which  they  were  to  operate  by  the 
killing,  scalping,  and  taking  captives,  was  fixed  and 
published.  It  was  to  begin  on  the  sea-shore,  three 
leagues  from  the  most  easterly  part  of  Passama- 
quoddy  River,  and  from  thence  to  run  north. 

DONAHEW'S   EXPEDITION. 

In  1645,  May  15,  Capt.  David  Donahew  embarked 
in  the  sloop  "Resolution,"  with  two  other  armed 
vessels,  with  nine  hundred  men,  to  advance  against 
the  French  and  Indians  at  Louisburg. 

In  this  undertaking  Massachusetts  had  enrolled 
and  sent  out  3,250  men,  including  Donahew's  force  ; 
New  Hampshire,  304  ;  Connecticut,  516.  The  train 
of  artillery  consisted  of  eight  twenty-two-pounders, 
twelve  nine-pounders,  two  twelve-inch  mortars,  one 
eleven  and  one  nine  inch  mortar. 


DONAHEW   SLAIN.  805 

Ten  eighteen-pounders  were  borrowed  of  Gov. 
Clinton  of  New  York. 

"Brig-Gen.  Samuel  Waldo  was  the  leader.  Col.  Samuel 
Moore  commanded  the  forces  from  New  Hampshire,  Lieut.-Col. 
Simon  Lothrop  those  of  Connecticut,  and  Lieut.-Col.  Gridley 
the  artillery. 

"  Lieut.-Gen.  Wm.  Pepperrell  supervised  the  expedition." 

DONAHEW'S  FATE. 

After  this  expedition  and  its  results  were  known, 
a  considerable  time  elapsed  before  the  fate  of  the 
gallant  Col.  Donahew  was  known,  who,  as  it  proved, 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians.  "Picket " 
relates  that  he  with  eleven  others  went  on  shore  in 
the  Gut  of  Canso,  and  was  at  once  nearly  sur- 
rounded by  two  hundred  and  fifty-three  French  and 
Indians. 

"  That,  being  cut  off  from  retreating  to  their  vessel,  defended 
themselves  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  in  which  time  the  captain, 
his  brother,  and  three  others  were  killed." 

That  the  rest,  six  in  all,  being  wounded,  were 
taken  prisoners :  two  of  the  enemy  were  killed,  and 
several  wounded.  That  the  Indians  cut  the  flesh 
and  sucked  the  blood  of  the  captain's  brother,  ana 
brutally  mangled  his  dead  body,  and  repeated  the 
same  upon  others  who  had  been  slain. 


803  INDIAN  WARS. 

This  captain  previously  had  commanded  a  priva- 
teer, which  went  out  from  Newbury,  Nov.  7,  1744. 

VARIOUS   DEPREDATIONS. 

In  these  years  depredations  by  the  tribes  were 
being  committed  continually.  We  give  place  to  a 
few  of  them. 

"In  1745,  July  10,  an  Indian  party  who  previously  had 
assaulted  the  Great  Meadow  Fort  in  Putney,  Vt.,  came  to  the 
Upper  Ashuelot,  now  the  town  of  Keene,  N.H.,  waylaid  the 
road;  and  an  early  proprietor  of  the  town,  Deacon  Fisher, 
while  on  his  way  to  a  pasture  with  his  cows,  was  shot  and 
scalped.  On  the  19th  an  express  came  to  Fal  mouth,  from 
Capt.  Bradley  at  Fort  George,  that  a  garrison  had  been  burnt 
by  the  Indians,  having  seventy  inmates,  and  that  one  man  and 
forty  cattle  had  been  killed.  On  the  30th,  news  arrived  at 
Boston  that  two  men  had  been  beaten  down  by  the  Indians 
with  clubs,  and  scalped,  the  one  being  dead,  the  other  yet  alive. 
And  then  on  the  2od  of  August,  1745,  Lieut.-Gov.  Phipps, 
in  the  absence  of  Gov.  Shirley,  declared  war  against l  the  Eastern 
and  Canada  Indians,'  because,  as  he  averred,  the  Norridgewocks, 
Penobscots,  and  others  had  '  broken  out  in  open  rebellion.'  " 

On  Sept.  5,  Lieut.  Proctor  and  nineteen  men  gave 
battle  to  some  Indians  near  Fort  George,  and  two 
noted  chiefs  were  killed  who  had  been  known  as 
Col.  Morris  and  Capt.  Samuel;  another  of  them, 
"  Col.  Job"  was  taken  prisoner,  and  afterwards  died 
in  prison  at  Boston. 


CONFERENCE  AT  ALBANY.  SOT 

News  came  that  a  son  of  Col.  Gushing  was  killed 
by  unseen  Indians  at  Sheepscot,  and  that  two  boys, 
Jimes  and  Samuel  Anderson,  were  taken  and  carried 
captive  to  Canada.  Their  father  was  killed.  And 
thus  the  fight  progressed. 

On  the  5th  of  .October,  1745,  by  request  of  Gov. 
Clinton,  a  conference  was  held  at  Albany,  N.Y., 
between  the  English  and  the  Six  Nations. 

"  Pursuant  to  notice,  MASSACHUSETTS  sent  delegates,  John 
Stoddard,  Jacob  Wendall,  Samuel  Wells,  and  Thomas  Hutch- 
inson ;  Connecticut,  Roger  Walcot,  Nath.  Stanley ;  Pennsylvania, 
Thomas  Lawrence,  John  Kinsey,  and  Isaac  Norris.  Arent  Ste- 
vens and  Coenrat  Weiser  were  the  Interpreters.  The  nations 
represented  there  were  the  Mohawks,  the  Oneydas,  the  Onondagas, 
the  Tuscaroras,  the  Caeuges,  and  the  Senekes" 

The  result  of  this  conference  was  on  the  20th  of 
October  announced  in  Boston,  that,  — 

"  The  Six  Nations  readily  renewed  their  covenant  with  the 
several  governments ;  that  they  had  taken  the  hatchet  against 
^he  French  and  Indian  enemy,  and  only  wait  till  the  Governor 
of  New  York  shall  order  them  to  make  use  of  it." 

Still  depredations  were  advancing  almost  every- 
where, and  particularly  on  the  borders. of  New  York. 
About  this  thre  a  large  body  of  three  hundred 
French  and  two  huidred  Indians  came  down  upon 
the  Dutch  settlements  at  Saratoga,  and  murdered 


308  INDIAN  WARS. 

many    of    the    inhabitants,   ravished    the    country, 
burned  houses,  saw-mills,  and  lumber. 

"  For  the  years  1745-6-7  the  premium  in  New  York  for  In- 
dian scalps  and  captives  was  £1,000,  old  tenor,  per  head,  to  vol- 
unteers, and  £400  to  impressed  men,  their  wages  and  subsist- 
ence money  to  be  deducted." 

In  this  year,  1745,  James  McQuade  and  Robert 
Burns  of  Bedford,  N.H.,  while  returning  home  from 
Pennacook,  were  fired  upon  by  Indians.  McQuade 
was  killed :  Burns  escaped. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Bunt  en,  while  on  his  way 
from  Pelham  to  Pennacook,  near  Head's  Tavern  in 
Hooksett,  N.H.,  was  shot.  And  thus  it  was  that  the 
English  as  well  as  the  tribes  suffered  dreadfully  in 
murders  and  in  battles,  daily  and  nightly. 

"  Such  was  the  bloody  fight  and  such  the  foe : 
Our  gallant  force  returned  them  blow  for  blow, 
By  turns  successfully  their  force  defied ; 
And  conquest  wavering  swayed  from  side  to  side." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


French  and  Indians  in  Maine  and  elsewhere  against  the  Colo- 
nies.—Skirmishes,  Murders,  and  Dread  Conflicts. — At  Port- 
land. —  At  Berwick.  —  At  Casco.  —  At  Wells,  and  at  York. 
—  Governor  Phipps.— Fort  Henry  again  Assailed. —A  Treaty 
of  Peace  concluded. — Rewards  to  Volunteers. 


[^ CAVING  given  a  brief  review  of  the  New 
England  landscape,  as  in  the  olden  time, 
and  of  the  manners,  customs,  and  habits 
of  the  native  Indian,  and  of  his  un- 
bridled ferocious  propensities  in  the 
midst  of  the  early  settlers,  up  to  the  end  of  King 
Philip's  war  and  since,  we  now  advance  to  the  more 
prominent  conflict,  which  troubled  the  English  mostly 
in  the  District  of  Maine,  through  the  many  invasions 
of  Indians,  combined  with  volunteers  from  the  Cana- 
dian French. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  there  had  existed  a  spirit 
of  rivalry  between  France  and  England  in  reference 
to  New  England,  and  any  trouble  there  invariably  re- 
vived animosities,  and  created  new  conflicts  here.  So 
it  was,  that  each  nationality  in  quest  of  dominion, 
from  time  to  time  sought  and  obtained  allies  of  the 

309 


310  INDIAN  WARS. 

native  Indian,  and  thence  did  they  advance  to  the 
most  desperate  cruelties  of  a  savage  warfare. 

Among  the  then  transpiring  events,  Massachusetts 
made  a  purchase  of  Maine  at  the  price  of  £1,250 
sterling.*  This  outwardly  created  a  considerable  dis- 
quietude, and  in  fact  incurred  the  disfavor  of  King 
James  II.  It  raised  a  rumor  of  additional  uprisings 
and  invasions  of  the  colonies  from  the  French  and 
Indians.  Whereupon,  to  resist  all  aggressions,  Massa- 
chusetts enlisted  a  military  force  of  six  hundred  men, 
including  a  company  of  Natick  Indians,  ninety  in 
number,  and  stationed  them  at  Berwick  (Newichawan- 
nock),  Me.  Soon,  then,  a  detachment  of  these  troops 
advanced  to  (Portland) 

FALMOUTH, 

and  there  they  were  joined  by  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Maine  volunteers,  settlers,  together  with  some  Indians, 
all  under  the  command  of  Maj.  Benjamin  Church,  who 
had  been  a  distinguished  English  leader  in  Philip's  war 
some  years  previous.  Church  landed  his  forces  in  the 
woods  at  Falmouth,  where  they  remained  concealed, 
half  a  mile  away  from  the  settlement.  But  the  French 
and  Indians,  to  the  number  of  about  seven  hundred, 
had  already  arrived;  and  a  pitched 

*  Hutchinson's  Collection  of  State  Papers,  page  493. 


THE  THIRTY  VOLUNTEERS.  311 


ensued,  in  which  Church  lost  twenty-one  in  killed  and 
wounded,  six  of  whom  were  friendly  Indians. 

Both  sides  at  once  retreated,  as  appears;  and  the 
loss  of  the  French  and  Indians  was  never  reported. 

Soon  then  the  garrison-houses  east  of  Portland  were 
abandoned,  and  the  settlers  many  of  them  took  refuge 
nearer  Boston,  many  of  them  into  garrisons  that  stood 
on  or  near  the  Piscataqua. 

From  Falmouth,  Major  Church,  on  ship-board  with 
his  force,  advanced  to  the  east,  ascended  the  Ken- 
nebec,  visited  its  garrisons,  left  about  sixty  soldiers  at 
Fort  Loyal ;  yet  meeting  no  opposition  there,  after  a 
little  time  returned  to  Boston. 

FALMOUTH    AGAIN. 

On  May  16,  1690,  the  French  and  Indians,  to  the 
number  of  about  four  hundred,  as  history  has  it,  made 
another  invasion  upon  this  town.  Upon  some  rumor 
of  their  coming,  thirty  young  men  volunteered  to  .re- 
connoitre the  position  of  the  invaders.  They,  led  by 
one  Lieut.  Thaddeus  Clark,  marched  back  into  the 
wilderness,  and  upon  the  top  of  Munjoy's  Hill,  they 
were  met  by  a  volley  of  bullets  from  behind  a  fence. 
Their  commander  and  nearly  one-half  of  their  company 
were  killed.  The  living  fled,  and  they  were  pursued 
by  the  French  and  Indians  with  a  savage  yell.  They 


312  INDIAN   WARS. 

and  all  outsiders,  as  they  went,  who  could  not  reach 
the  garrisons,  were  slain  or  captured.  The  dwelling- 
houses  were  plundered  and  consumed.  For  four  days 
the  combined  savages  gave  battle  to  Fort  Loyal  and 
the  other  four  garrisons  of  Falmouth,  —  the  assault 
being  kept  up  until  the  twentieth  day  of  May,  and 
until  nearly  all  within  the  garrison  were  slain. 

At  length  the  survivors  sent  out,  inquiring  upon 
what  conditions  they  might  be  allowed  to  surrender : 
upon  which  they  were  assured  that  all  their  lives 
should  be  spared;  that  they  should  be  treated  merci- 
fully, and  that  under  guard  they  should  be  conducted 
in  safety  to  the  next  English  town,  where,  in  the 
course  of  time,  they  should  be  liberated.  To  this 
Mons.  Burneffe  took  an  oath  "to  the  living  God,"  in- 
suring the  safety  of  all. 

Thereupon  the  gates  of  the  garrisons  were  opened. 
But,  alas !  the  poor  inmates  found  but  little  mercy. 
The  Indians,  in  spite  of  English  or  French,  rushed  in, 
and  but  few  of  the  prisoners  escaped  death.  Burneffe, 
however,  with  his  French  assistants,  succeeded  in  sav- 
ing the  lives  of  Davis,  the  commander,  and  of  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  of  his  people,  who  had  surren- 
dered from  the  garrisons.  The  town  was  consumed, 
and  the  French  and  Indians  turned  away,  retreating 
towards  Canada.  The  dead  were  left  unburied ;  Cap- 
tain Davis,  with  others,  was  carried  away  into  cap- 
tivity. After  being  held  four  months  at  Quebec,  his 


BLOCK-HOUSE  AT  Fonx  HALIFAX,  ME.,  page  312. 


HARTEL  AND   HOPEGOOD.  313 

release,  by  an  exchange  for  a  French  prisoner,  was 
obtained  by  Sir  William  Phipps.  At  this  downfall  of 
Falmouth,  the  surrounding  settlers  fled  westward,  leaving 
the  feebler  garrisons,  many  of  them  securing  themselves 
under  the  strong  fortresses  at  Wells. 

In  1725,  Dec.  15,  there  was  a  treaty  here  (the  Dum- 
mer  Treaty),  which  lasted  several  years.* 

BERWICK. 

This  settlement  was  made  up  of  about  twenty-seven 
dwelling-houses.  In  the  spring  (March)  of  1690,  the 
French  and  Indians,  having  destroyed  the  small  village 
at  Salmon  Falls,  on  the  river,  passed  over  and  invaded 
Berwick,  f 

Their  force,  as  .then  organized,  included  twenty-seven 
French  (Canadians)  and  twenty-five  Indians.  Of  course, 
as  was  the  Indian  custom,  the  onset  was  commenced 
at  the  early  dawn.  Hartel  led  the  Frenchmen,  and 
the  famous  Hopegood  was  chief  of  the  Indians.  In 
the  conflict  thirty-four,  nearly  all  the  men  of  the  Eng- 
lish, being  killed,  their  women  and  children  could  do 
no  better  than  to  surrender.  The  victors  killed  the 
cattle,  burned  all  the  buildings,  took  all  the  plunder 
they  could  carry,  and  with  fifty-four  captives  whom 

*  See   Massachusetts   Government  Records,   vol.   xii,  p.   88. 
Abbott's  History  of  Maine,  p.  332. 
f  Ibid.,  p.  226. 


314  INDIAN   WARS. 

they  had  taken  there  at  Berwick,  started  on  their  re- 
turn back  into  the  'wilderness. 

The  burning  down  of  this  village  attracted  from  the 
adjacent  settlements  a  force  of  fifty  men,  who  pursued 
the  Indians  and  French,  and  overtook  them  at 
"Wooster  River,"  where,  in  crossing  it,  the  battle  was 
renewed,  and  continued  until  nightfall,  which  brought 
an  end  to  the  conflict.  Several  on  the  one  side  and 
on  the  other  were  slain.  In  1703,  "Major  Mason,  with 
nearly  one  hundred  friendly  Indians,  belonging  to  the 
Pequods  and  Mohegans  of  Connecticut,  were  stationed 
here  at  Berwick." 


From  this,  in  September,  1690,  a  second  expedition, 
under  Major  Church,  was  now  organized.  It  was  made 
up  of  three  hundred  men,  and  was  ordered  to  advance 
to  Casco,  to  destroy  the  hostile  Indians,  and  obtain 
from  them  their  many  captives.  Landing  at  Maquort, 
he  moved  under  cover  of  night  through  the  wilderness 
to  the  Pajepscot  Fort  at  the  Falls.  The  enemy  dis- 
covering his  coming,  fled  away,  but  in  their  frenzy 
left  their  captives  at  the  Fort.  Church  captured  and 
secured  one  Indian  warrior  with  a  few  women  and 
children,  as  well  as  their  English  captives.  He  at 
first  inclined  to  kill  the  warrior,  but  was  dissuaded 
by  the  women  captives,  who  had  been  favored  by  him. 


UP   THE  ANDROSCOGGIN.  315 

The  wives  of  the  two  chiefs  Worumbee  and  Kaukam- 
agus  were  held  as  prisoners.  These  wives  promising 
that  the  many  English  prisoners  should  be  given  up 
in  exchange  for  them,  they  were  committed  to  the 
garrison  at  Wells,  and  were  safely  held  there.  Two 
children  of  Worurabee's  squaw  were  also  spared  by 
Church,  and  sent  with  her  and  imprisoned  at  Wells; 
but  the  sister  of  Kaukamagus  was  killed.  The  capture 
consisted  of  nine  Indian  prisoners  and  five  English 
captives  rescued.  This  was  Sunday,  Sept.  14,  1690. 
Church  then,  with  forty  soldiers,  proceeded  up  the 
Androscoggin  seven  miles  to  another  fort.  There 
he  obtained  five  English  captives,  took  nine  Indians 
prisoners,  burnt  the  fort,  and  slew  the  others,  twenty- 
one  in  all.  But  Great  Tom,  one  of  the  prisoners, 
escaped  and  fled  back  to  his  tribe  in  the  wilderness. 

Thence  Church,  with  his  craft,  proceeded  along  the 
Maine  coast  eastward ;  yet  finding  but  little  opportunity 
on  the  way  to  afflict  the  tribes,  he,  on  the  twenty-first 
day  of  September  (1690),  arrived  at  Purpooduck,  near 
Cape  Elizabeth.  Here  he  was  assailed  by  a  band  of 
Indians.  In  this  fight  he  lost  five  of  his  men,  killed 
eight  or  ten  Indians,  and  took  and  sequestered  from 
them  thirteen  canoes. 

After  the  conflict,  it  is  said  the  Indians  cruelly  killed 
as  many  of  their  English  captives  as  they  had  lost  in 
the  battle. 


316  INDIAN  WARS. 

WELLS. 

In  the  following  October,  ten  Indian  chiefs  made 
their  appearance  at  Wells,  where  an  exchange  of  prisoners 
was  had,  and  the  Indian  women  and  children  held 
there  were  returned  to  their  tribes.  "We  are  ready,'* 
said  these  sagamores,  "at  any  time  and  place  you 
may  appoint,  to  meet  your  head  men  and  enter  into 
a  treaty."  *  At  this  time  all  the  settlements  in  the 
east  had  been  devastated,  except  York,  Wells,  Kitlery, 
and  the  Isle  of  Shoals.  And  upon  this,  several  efforts 
were  made  by  the  English  to  obtain  a  treaty,  all  of 
which  proved  fruitless. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  1692,  a  reinforcement  of  thirty- 
five  soldiers  were  sent  down  to  aid  the  garrison  at 
Wells.  They  happened  to  arrive  in  season  for  the 
then  impending  conflict.  Immediately  the  entire  gar- 
rison was  assailed  by  two  hundred  Indians.  In  this, 
the  tribes,  as  appears,  killed  many  cattle;  yet  only 
some  half-dozen  of  the  English  were  lost,  being,  as 
they  were,  well  protected  by  their  forts. 

The  enemy,  however,  hastily  retired,  and  on  the 
way  burned  several  dwelling-houses  at  Cape  Neddock, 
in  York,  and  boarding  a  vessel,  killed  most  of  the 

crew. 

YORK. 

In  the  midst  of  conflicts,  murders,  and  arsons,  time 
moved  on;   and  in  February,  1692,  at  the  breaking  in 
*  History  of  Wells  and  Kennebunk,  p.  196. 


GARRISON-HOUSE  AT  YORK,  ME.  (built  about  1045),  page  310. 


BATTLE  AT  YORK.  317 

of  a  cold  day,  a  force  of  three  hundred  French  and 
Indians,  who  had  tramped  their  way  from  Canada 
on  snow-shoes,  now  turned  in'  and  gave  battle  to 
York.  The  inhabitants,  not  anticipating  an  invasion 
at  that  cold  season  of  deep  snows,  were  of  course 
sadly  surprised.  In  a  half-hour  their  houses  were  all 
on  fire.  Still,  the  walls  of  the  garrisons  were  well 
defended.  Seventy-five  of  the  inhabitants  were  slain, 
and  upwards  of  an  hundred  were  taken  prisoners 
and  carried  into  captivity;  many  of  whom  greatly 
suffered  from  wounds  received  in  the  conflict.  The 
garrisons,  however,  held  out;  and  the  French  and 
Indians,  in  fear  of  reinforcements  to  the  English, 
secured  their  captives,  and  gathering  together  their 
plunder,  retreated.  They  took  a  direction  towards 
Sagadahoc.  It  appears  that  nearly  half  of  all  the 
people  of  York  were  killed  or  carried  into  captivity. 
Their  minister,  the  Rev.  Shubael  Dummer,  a  graduate 
of  Harvard,  was  slain,  as  it  was  the  invariable  custom 
to  kill  the  minister  if  possible,  first  of  all.  His  wife 
was  carried  away  with  the  captives.  She  afterwards 
from  exposure  soon  died,  and  but  few  of  all  the 
prisoners  lived  to  return.  To  the  credit  of  the  tribes, 
they  soon  selected  from  the  captives,  when  taken,  of 
the  old  men,  women,  and  children,  equal  in  number 
to  those  of  their  race  who  had  then  recently  been  set 
free  by  Major  Church,  and  carefully  sent  them  back 
to  one  of  the  English  garrisons.  A  volunteer  party 


318  INDIAN  WARS. 

from  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  immediately  advanced  in 
pursuit  of  these  French  and  Indian  invaders,  but 
not  being  overtaken,  they  made  a  safe  retreat. 

WELLS    AGAIN. 

On  June  10,  1692,  a  shallop  and  two  sloops  with 
fourteen  sailors  had  been  sent  with  supplies  to  aid  the 
garrison  at  Wells.  The  garrison  was  commanded  by 
a  Captain  Converse.  At  the  morning  dawn  the  town 
was  startled  by  the  yells  of  five  hundred  French  and 
Indians,  led  by  Mohs.  Burneffe  as  commander,  with 
four  sagamores  under  him,  who  led  the  Indians. 

The  assault,  as  usual,  was  commenced  with  yells, 
and  with  ranks  divided  into  separate  squads. 
But  the  tactics  appear  to  have  been  French  and 
Indian  combined.  There  were  about  thirty  armed 
men  in  the  garrison.  The  women  there  were  probably 
much  more  numerous. 

It  was  reported  that  one  of  the  soldiers,  being 
frightened  at  that  terrible  war-whoop  yell,  exclaimed, 
"We  can't  resist,  —  we  must  surrender!"  To  whom 
Converse  sternly  said,  '•'•Repeat  that  word,  and  you 
are  a  dead  manf" 

These  garrisons  were  defended  with  cannon  and 
with  musketry.  The  women  gallantly  engaged  in  the 
defence.  They  brought  ammunition,  they  assisted  in 
handling  the  guns,  and  great  havoc  was  made  in  the 
ranks  of  the  French  and  Indians.  It  has  been  asserted 


CONFLICT  AT  WELLS.  319 

that  the  Indians  were  not  satisfied  with  the  French 
fashion  which  had  conducted  this  conflict. 

English  sloops  were  anchored  there,  near  the  shore, 
so  near  that  the  Indians  built  a  breastwork  of  planks, 
and  from  behind  it  shot  fire-arrows  into  the  vessels, 
sometimes  setting  them  on  fire;  but  by  the  use  of 
mops  upon  poles,  the  flames  were  extinguished  by  the 
sailors. 

The  enemy  then  fixed  a  breastwork  upon  a  cart, 
and  moved  it  upon  the  shore  towards  the  vessel. 
But  in  moving,  the  cart-wheel  stuck  in  the  mud.  A 
Frenchman  placed  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel,  and  was 
killed  by  a  bullet  from  the  ship.  Another  jumped 
into  his  place,  and  he  falling  dead  'neath  the  cart,  the 
Indians  fled  away. 


June  11,  the  attack  upon  the  garrison  (of  which  there 
were  seven  or  eight)  was  renewed.  None  of  the  in- 
mates, however,  were  injured.  The  chief  could  speak 
English;  and  during  the  assault,  Commander  Converse 
was  often  besought  to  surrender.  Converse  defied 
them.  The  chief  said,  "Since  you  feel  so  stout, 
Converse,  why  do  you  not  come  out  into  the  field 
and  fight  like  a  man,  and  not  stay  in  a  garrison  like 
a  squaw?" 


320  INDIAN  WARS. 

"What  a  pack  of  fools  you  are,"  Converse  rejoined. 
"Do  you  think  I  am  willing,  with  but  thirty  men, 
to  fight  your  five  hundred?" 

"No,  no,"  said  the  chief.  "We  think  English 
fashion  all  fool.  You  kill  me ;  me  kill  you.  Not  so ; 
we  fie  somewhere,  and  'em  Englishmen  when  he  no 
see,  —  that 's  the  best  soldier." 

Then  turning  away,  both  French  and  Indians  re- 
newed their  attack  upon  the  two  sloops,  on  board  of 
which  there  were  but  seven  ojr  eight  sailors.  Then 
this  allied  strength  of  five  hundred  constructed  a  raft, 
on  which  they  heaped  a  large  mass  of  combustible 
materials,  made  up  of  dried  branches  of  trees,  birch 
bark,  etc.,  on  which  they  approached  the  sloops,  and 
triumphant  yells  filled  the  air.  But  as  fortune  turned, 
the  wind  at  once  changed  directions,  and  their  fiery 
craft,  in  spite  of  all  their  efforts,  was  driven  to  the 
opposite  shore,  where,  to  the  dismay  of  the  tribes,  it 
was  entirely  consumed. 

Among  the  slain  was  Labocree,  one  of  the  French 
officers.  The  French  and  Indian  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  during  this  conflict  was  considerable.  One 
Englishman  was  killed  on  a  sloop;  and  one  John 
Diamond  was  taken  prisoner,  but  afterwards  was 
horribly  tortured  and  put  to  death  by  the  savages.* 

*  See  History  of  Wells  and  Kennebunk,  p.  196. 


GARRISON   AT  PEMAQUID.  321 

GOVERNOR    PHIPPS. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1692,  a  new  administration  in 
Massachusetts  having  commenced  under  Sir  William 
Phipps,  its  Legislature  assembled  at  Boston,  and 
preparation  being  made,  450  men  were  sent  by  the 
government  to  Pemaquid  Point,  where  they  constructed 
a  large  quadrangular  garrison  built  of  stone  at  the 
cost  of  $500,000,  which  was  called  Fort  Henry.  In 
the  mean  time,  Major  Church  was  sent  farther  east 
with  a  strong  force  to  seek  out  and  destroy  the  allied 
invaders  in  that  direction.  But  no  enemy  was 
discovered.  Yet  the  Major  on  his  way  found  several 
deserted  cabins,  and  a  few  individual  Frenchmen  and 
their  wives,  who  were  native  Indians,  caught  and 
secured  two  or  three  Indian  tramps  and  a  small 
amount  of  plunder,  principally  corn  and  bear-skins. 

Then  the  Major  returned  with  his  military  force  to 
Pemaquid,  and  thence  sailed  up  the  Kennebec  to 
Winslow  (Teconat).  The  Indians  of  that  place, 
hearing  of  his  approach,  "set  fire  to  their  wigwams 
and  fled  away  into  the  dark  dense  forest."  * 

FORT    HENRY    AGAIN. 

After  this,  the  Canadian-French,  to  the  number  of 
200,  assisted  by  their  Indian  allies  under  Madakawando, 
undertook  the  destruction  of  Fort  Henry.  They 

*  See  Third  Expedition  of  Church,  p.  131. 


322  INDIAN   WARS. 

manned  two  French  frigates,  —  the  one  of  thirty-four 
and  the  other  of  thirty-eight  guns.  But  when  they 
reached  Pemaquid,  they  were  dismayed  by  the  dis- 
covery of  a  British  man-of-war  anchored  near  the 
guns  and  under  the  frowning  walls  of  the  garrison. 
Thence  they  retired,  somewhat  wiser  than  when  they 
started. 

TBEATY    OF    PEACE. 

Tired  of  war,  defeat,  poverty,  and  distress,  the 
eastern  tribes  now  proposed  a  treaty  of  peace.  Hence 
a  meeting  to  that  end  was  had  Aug.  12,  1692,  at 
Pemaquid.  It  was  made  up  of  three  commissioners 
representing  the  settlements,  and  of  eighteen  Indian 
sagamores  who  represented  the  most,  if  not  all,  the 
tribes  in  the  East.*  A  treaty  was  then  and  there 
made,  wherein  the  tribes  renounced  all  alliance  to 
France,  and  guaranteed  "loyalty  to  the  crown  of 
England.  They  were  to  release  all  their  captives 
without  pay;  were  never  more  to  trespass  on  the  terri- 
torial possession  of  the  English  settlers ;  and  agreed 
to  confine  their  traffic  to  such  trading-houses  only  as 
should  be  regulated  by  English  laws,  and  agreed 
that  all  causes  of  conflicting  rights  should  be  adjusted 
in  the  English  courts.  Thereupon  five  Indians  of 
high  rank  were  yielded  up  as  hostages  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  Treaty."  f 

*  See  p.  273.        f  See  Mather's  Magnolia,  Vol.  2,  p.  542. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


Differences  in  Religion. —French  Missionaries  foment  Hostil- 
ities. —  Mons.  Villieu  at  Peuobscot.  —  Bounty  offered  for 
the  Head  of  Halle.  — Failure  of  proposed  Treaty.  —  Assault 
upon  Fort  Henry. — French  and  Indians  in  Retreat. — 
Treaty. —  Nova  Scotia  Ceded  to  the  English  by  Massachu- 
setts. —  Massachusetts  Government  Vote  to  Expel  Catholic 
Missionaries.  —  Conference  at  Falmouth. — Casco  again  As- 
sailed. —  Wells  again. 

HE  earl}'  settlements  in  New  England  were 
held  not  only  against  the  hostilities  of  the 
native  Indians  and  their  French  allies  on 
the  one  hand,  as  fanned  into  a  flame  by 
the  furious,  frequent  outbreakings  of  war 
between  France  and  England,  but  by  Catholic  French 
missionaries  in  and  on  the  borders  of  Canada,  who,  in 
sight  of  the  Protestant  clergy  of  New  England,  deemed 
"it  no  sin  [as  they  would  say]  to  break  faith  with 
heretics."  They  sought  to  make  proselytes  of  the 
tribes,  and  in  their  over-zeal  sometimes  led  off  in 
many  a  dread  conflict,  which  otherwise  might  never 
have  occurred. 

Among  those  Catholics  there  was  a  man  of  much 
force  and  influence,  "Father  Ralle,"  who  resided  at 
Nqrrldgewock.  Williams  says,  Ealle's  "entire  devo- 


324  INDIAN   WARS. 

tion  to  the  religious  interests  of  the  Indians  gave  him 
an  unlimited  ascendancy  over  them." 

In  1693,  the  governor  of  Canada  had  stationed 
Mons.  Villieu  as  a  resident  French  commander  at 
Penobscot,  who  had  succeeded  in  enlisting  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  Indians  with  Madakawando  as  assistant 
leader,  together  with  a  French  force  to  make  an 
assault  upon  Dover. 

About  the  same  time,  the  English  at  Boston,  as 
appears,  had  offered  bribes  to  the  Indians  to  capture 
and  bring  in  to  them  these  hostile  missionai-ies ;  but 
failing  in  this,  they  offered  "a  reward  of  a  thousand 
pounds  sterling  to  any  one  who  would  bring  to  them 
the  head  of  Ealle."  * 

Then,  July  18,  1693,  Madakawando,  with  the  two 
hundred  and  fifty  Indians  and  with  the  French  force, 
invaded  and  destroyed  Dover,  N.  H.,  and  returned 
back  into  Maine.  They  took  one  captive  near  York, 
and  killed  four  men  there.  In  the  following  month 
(August  25),  they  scalped  a  small  girl,  and  killed 

*  Bomaseen,  one  of  the  Eastern  chiefs,  in  a  talk  with  an 
English  Protestant,  said,  "The  Indians  understand  that  the 
Virgin  Mary  was  a  French  lady.  Her  son  Jesus  Christ,  the 
blessed,  was  murdered  by  the  English.  But  he  has  risen 
from  the  dead  and  gone  to  Heaven.  All  who  would  gain  his 
favor  must  avenge  his  blood."  —  History  of  Maine  (p.  243), 
by  Abbott. 


A   PROPOSED   PEACE  FAILS.  325 

eight  men  in  KITTERY.     This  of  course   was   regarded 
as  a  violation  of  the  treaty  last  made.  * 

A    TREATY. 

Hostilities  had  thus  continued,  variously,  and  in 
May,  1695,  the  English  sent  Sheepscot  John,  one  of 
their  captive  chiefs,  east,  to  invite  another  treaty. 
Hence  they  obtained  a  conference  at  Rutherford's 
Island,  out  from  Fort  William  Henry  about  three 
miles.  The  sagamores  came  there  in  fifty  canoes. 
Eight  English  captives  were  then  and  there  set  free. 
A  truce  was  to  be  had,  commissioners  were  to  be 
appointed,  and  the  two  nationalities,  at  the  end  of 
thirty  days,  were  to  meet  at  Fort  William  Henry  to 
complete  a  final  treaty  of  peace.  But  when  that  time 
arrived,  although  the  sagamores  were  promptly  there, 
Phillips,  Hawthorne,  and  others,  who  represented  the 
English,  demanded  of  the  Indians  the  giving  up  of 
their  prisoners ;  but  as  they  refused  to  surrender  their 
own  hostages,  the  Indians  would  not  make  peace.  To 
this  extraordinary  demand  they  answered,  "  You  have 
not  brought  us  our  friends,  and  yet  you  demand  that 
we  should  bring  to  you  yours.  This  is  not  fair. 
We  will  talk  no  more."  Thus  and  thence,  this  truce 
came  to  an  end. 

*  See  pp.  283-6. 


326  INDIAN   WARS. 

PISCATAQUA. 

In  the  following  year,  1696,  June,  upwards  of 
twenty  persons  were  murdered,  and  many  cottages 
were  burned,  on  and  along  the  Piscataqua. 

FORT    WILLIAM    HENRY. 

At  length  two  men-of-war  and  two  companies  of 
soldiers,  commanded  by  Captain  Iberville,  were  sent 
from  Quebec,  who  at  Port  Royal  were  to  obtain  fifty 
Indians,  to  be  joined  at  Castine  by  reinforcements 
there. 

Baron  Castine  joined  them  at  the  place  last  named, 
and  in  all  it  has  been  said  there  were  in  this  force 
two  hundred  Indians. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1696,  these  savages,  corning 
in  canoes,  led  by  Castine,  joined  in  the  assault 
upon  Fort  William  Henry.  Chubs  in  the  garrison 
had  ninety-five  men  and  fifteen  guns,  with  a  good 
supply  of  ammunition  and  provisions. 

The  Frenchman,  Iberville,  aimed  his  mortars  at 
the  fort,  and  called  for  a  surrender.  Chubs  refused. 
The  bombardment  commenced,  and  thunderbolts  of 
shot  and  shell  assailed  the  fort.  Chubs,  feeling  the 
effects  of  so  strong  a  force,  and  knowing  of  many 
outrages  which  he  himself  had  committed  against 
the  natives,  and  fearing  for  his  own  life,  raised  the 


WAR-SHIPS   ON   THE  COAST.  327 

white  flag.*  He  surrendered  the  garrison,  the  French 
flag  was  raised  upon  it,  and  he  and  his  men  taken 
captives  were  carried  into  Boston  and  were  there 
exchanged  for  Indian  and  French  prisoners. 

FRENCH    AND    INDIANS    ESCAPE. 

This  surrender  startled  the  English  and  encouraged 
the  hostile  French  and  Indians.  Yet  very  promptly 
500  men  were  raised  and  transported  to  the  Pis- 
cataqua,  led  by  Major  Church;  but  no  enemy  was 
traced. 

A  fire-ship,  three  British  war-vessels,  with  a  smaller 
craft  of  twenty  guns,  were  sent  in  pursuit  of  the 
victorious  French  squadron,  and  although  they  came 
in  sight  of  it,  it  could  not  be  reached,  and  it  made 
safely  its  return  to  Quebec. 

On  their  way  back  to  Boston,  the  English  ships 
captured  a  French  shallop,  under  the  command  of 
Villieu,  with  twenty-three  French  sailors. 

Then  next,  Church,  with  a  division  of  his  force, 
sailed  back  along  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  touched  at 
the  Island  Monhegan.  He  passed  up  the  Penobscot 

*  Chubs  resided  at  Andover,  Mass.,  and  was  murdered  there 
by  the  Indians  in  Feb.  1G98  (Drake's  Indians,  Book  III,  p.  113), 
and  no  wonder,  for  on  Feb.  1C,  1G96,  Chubs  had  lured  two 
chiefs,  Edgeremet  and  Abenquid  into  his  fort  and  put  them 
to  death."  —  Mather's  Magnolia,  and  Drake,  B.  Ill,  p.  112. 


328  INDIAN  WARS. 

Bay,  near  to  the  Caraden  Heights,  about  ten  miles 
above  Owl's  Head,  and  thence  in  August  he  went  up 
the  river  to  the  Bend,  now  Edington.*  Landing  here, 
he  took  a  march  up  the  west  bank  of  the  river.  The 
inmates  of  the  scattered  wigwams  fled  from  their 
presence  in  the  wilderness  far  away.  Church  burned 
their  habitations,  destroyed  their  growing  crops,  plun- 
dered away  their  furs  and  corn,  caught  now  and  then 
a  beaver,  a  fish,  or  a  bird,  and  then  turning  home- 
ward at  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  met  and  joined  in  with 
an  English  squadron  of  three  vessels  from  Boston. 
Thence  they  proceeded  to  make  an  attack  upon  St. 
John;  but  this  proved  unsuccessful. 

The  winter  of  1696-97  was  uncommonly  dreary,  in 
which  some  of  the  English  and  many  of  the  Indians 
through  cold  and  hunger  perished.  For  instance,  at 
one  time  nine  Indians  who  were  on  a  hunting  ex- 
cursion, after  eating  their  dogs,  famished  and  were 
found  dead  in  the  dark,  dense  forest.f 

It  is  now  1697,  and  the  conflict,  in  its  various 
forms  revived,  still  continues.  Two  young  men  on 
the  way  to  the  garrisons  at  Wells  are  shot  by  lurking 
savages;  and  at  a  little  distance  from  the  garrison  at 
York,  five  soldiers  are  shot  down  and  scalped.  An- 
other, for  some  offence  against  the  tribes,  is  roasted 
.alive  against  a  slow  fire.  Two  men  near  Wells  are 

*  Williamson,  Vol.  1,  p.  68.     f2  Mather's  Magnolia,  p.  536. 


FRENCH  AND   INDIANS,   1,500.  329 

seized  and  carried  off  captive  in  a  canoe.  But  one, 
Lieutenant  Larabee,  discovering  this  craft,  rescues  one 
of  the  captives  and  shoots  three  of  the  savages. 

NOVA    SCOTIA. 

During  this  year,  1,500  French  and  Indians  united 
in  an  expedition  to  recapture  Nova  Scotia,  and  to 
advance  upon  New  England.  From  this,  the  English 
became  active.  Five  hundred  soldiers  were  at  once 
enlisted  and  forwarded  to  man  the  forts  -on  the  main 
coasts.  Others,  numerously,  were  sent  to  intercept 
the  incomings  of  the  lurking  foe  from  the  wilderness. 

Major  March,  who  had  charge  of  the  five  hundred, 
landed  them  at  Damariscotta,  and  concealed  them  in 
the  forest.  But  being  discovered,  they  were  at  once 
saluted  with  a  shower  of  bullets.  Nearly  thirty  were 
killed.  The  Major  rallied  his  forces,  and  the  enemy, 
without  much  loss,  fled  farther  back  into  the  wil- 
derness. 

It  is  a  part  of  Indian  tactics  to  strike  an  unex- 
pected blow,  and  then  to  escape  without  a  retroactive 
injury. 

TREATIES. 

This  conflict  was  on  the  9th  of  September,  1697; 
and  on  the  llth,  a  treaty  of  peace  between  France 
and  England  was  declared  at  Ryswick,  which  reached 
Boston  on  Dec.  10,  1697,  and  in  the  summer  of  1698 


330  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  Indians,  tired  of  continued  conflicts,  privations, 
and  death-struggles,  sent  in  flags  of  truce,  imploring 
peace  in  the  midst  of  the  New  England  settlers. 

Hence  a  conference  to  that  end  was  held  on  the 
14th  of  October,  1698,  between  two  Massachusetts 
commissioners  and  six  sagamores,  who  were  attended 
with  a  numerous  Indian  retinue. 

The  Indians,  complaining  of  their  losses  of  life,  their 
winter  privations,  and  continual  famine,  had  become 
mournfully  sad.  Their  revered  chief,  Madakawando, 
was  dead,  and  they  urgently  sought  peace.  But  the 
English  commissioners  insisting  that  by  the  treaty  the 
"Catholic  Missionaries"  must  all  be  driven  out  of 
the  country  by  the  Indians,  this  proposition  put  an 
end  to  the  conference. 

To  this,  the  chiefs  firmly,  nobly  replied :  "  The 
white  prisoners  will  be  free  to  go  home  or  stay  with 
their  Indian  friends ;  but  the  good  missionaries  must 
not  be  driven  away." 

In  these  wars  it  was  estimated  that  between  five 
and  seven  hundred  of  the  English  settlers  had  been 
killed ;  two  hundred  and  fifty  carried  into  captivity, 
many  of  whom  had  died.  And  now,  at  Brunswick, 
in  January,  1699,  one  Colonel  Phillips  and  Major 
Converse  met  the  tribes,  and  ratifying  a  former  treaty, 
peace  for  a  brief  season  was  again  restored,  and  the 
then  ten  years'  war  seemed  thus  to  be  at  an  end. 


MISSIONARIES   TO  BE  EXPELLED.  331 

Massachusetts  yielded  all  her  rights  to  the  territory 
of  Nova  Scotia  to  the  Crown  of  England  and  assumed 
the  territory  of  Maine  as  a  province.  That  territory 
was  inhabited  by  a  mixture  of  Canadian  Catholics  and 
wild  Indians.  « 

Thence  the  people  gradually  for  a  while  began  to 
improve  and  prosper,  civilization  seemed  to  advance, 
and  nothing  more  than  occasional  skirmishes  and 
murders  disturbed  New  England,  up  to  May  4,  1702. 

The  next  conflict  was  France  against  England 
claiming  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Sagadahoc,  and 
a  right  to  all  the  fisheries  there. 

About  March,  1700,  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
passed  a  penal  act,  by  which  to  expel  the  Catholic 
missionaries  from  the  State. 

Then,  June  20,  1703,  a  conference,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  had  at  Falmouth;  the  chiefs  came  in  a  fleet 
of  sixty-five  canoes,  bringing  250  painted  and  plumed 
redmen  in  gay  colors,  well  armed.  Governor  Dudley, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  there,  and  spread  a  spacious 
tent  to  accommodate  the  conference.* 

The  Governor,  addressing  them,  among  other  things 
said,  "I  come  to  you  commissioned  by  the  great  and 
good  Queen  of  England.  I  would  esteem  you  all  as 
brothers  and  friends.  It  is  my  wish  to  reconcile 
every  difficulty,  whatever  has  happened  since  the  last 
treaty." 

*  Mass.  Records,  Vol.  VII,  p.  426. 


332  INDIAN  WARS. 

Siramoa,  a  Tarritine  chief,  replied  as  follows:  "We 
thank  you,  good  brother,  for  coming  so  far  to  talk 
with  us.  It  is  a  great  favor.  The  clouds  gather  and 
darken  the  sky;  but  we  still  sing  with  love  the  songs 
of  peace.  Believe  my  words.  So  far  as  the  sun  is 
above  the  earth,  so  far  are  our  thoughts  from  war,  or 
from  the  least  desire  of  a  rupture  between  us." 

On  that  day,  by  an  exchange  of  presents  and  mutual 
promises,  all  former  treaties  were  ratified. 

WAK   AGAIN. 

At  the  beginning  of  Queen  Anne's  war,  August  10, 
1703,  a  force  of  French  and  Indians  broke  in  upon 
Wells,  killing  or  taking  captive  thirty-nine.  They 
invaded  Cape  Porpoise,  Saco,  Scarboro',  Spurwink, 
Purpooduck,  and  Casco.  The  destruction  in  these 
settlements  at  this  time  was  so  entire,  that  no 
general  account  of  it  in  detail  was  ever  given. 

CASCO. 

After  this  time,  Major  John  March  commanded  the 
fort  at  Casco,*  which  is  said  to  have  been  at 
that  time  farthest  east  of  all.  And  then  again  this 
garrison  was  assailed  by  three  chiefs,  who  led  the 
Indians,  to  wit:  Moxus,  Wanungoet,  and  Ascacombuit. 

*  Casco  was  the  Indian  name  of  what  was  as  early  as  1C58 
Incorporated  as  Falmouth  now  a  part  of  which  is  Portland. 


FLEET  OF  BIRCH   CANOES.  333 

It  is  said  the  conflict  lasted  six  days  and  six  nights. 
Near  the  close  of  the  fight,  a  reinforcement  of 
French  and  Indians  came  in,  increasing  their  numbers 
to  nearly  five  hundred. 

While  this  battle  was  in  progress,  an  armed  vessel 
under  the  command  of  Cyprian  Southack  arrived  in 
support  of  the  garrison.  This  turned  the  tide  of 
events ;  at  which  the  French  and  Indians  took  to 
their  two  hundred  and  fifty  birch  canoes,  and  as  best 
they  could,  the  most  of  them  escaped.  Every  com- 
bustible thing  had  been  consumed. 

Major  March,  the  English  commander,  in  his  return 
of  this  conflict,  to  the  General  Court,  reported  that 
he  had  lost  "a  sloop  and  its  furniture,  eighty-nine 
head  of  sheep  and  cattle,  five  acres  and  a  half  of 
wheat,  six  acres  of  excellent  peas,  and  four  acres  and 
a  half  of  Indian  corn."  In  this  campaign  it  is 
reported  that  the  loss  to  English  settlers  was  not  less 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty,  killed  or  taken  captives.* 

WELLS    AGAIN. 

From  this,  a  troop  of  horse  were  soon  quartered 
at  Wells.  "Three  hundred  and  sixty  men  were 
marched  to  Pequawket,  and  another  force  was  sent  to 
the  Ossipee  ponds.  Major  Mason,  with  an  hundred 
friendly  Indians,  made  up  mostly  of  Pequods  and 
Mohegans  of  Connecticut,  was  stationed  at  Berwick. 

*  Bourne's  History  of  Wells,  p.  314. 


334  INDIAN  WARS. 

SCARBOROUGH. 

In  1677  a  force  of  two  hundred  Natick  Indians  and 
ninety  white  men,  mostly  men  whom  the  Indians  had 
previously  driven  from  Maine,  led  by  Captains  Swett 
and  Eichardson,  were  as  volunteers  sent  out  by  the 
Massachusetts  General  Court  against  the  hostile  tribes 
of  Maine. 

On  the  28th  of  June  of  that  year,  they  reached 
there  at  Black  Point.  They,  %of  course,  were  soon 
discovered,  and  the  coy  savages  at  once  appeared  to 
be  preparing  their  ambuscade.  The  English  forces, 
confiding  in  their  superior  strength,  aggressively 
marched  upon  and  into  it.  The  Indians,  who  were 
there  as  a  decoy,  were  soon  out  of  harm's  way, 
feigning  a  retreat.  But  the  English,  in  their  hot 
haste  and  pursuit,  at  once  found  themselves  in  a 
glade,  surrounded  by  a  swamp,  dark  with  ti-ees  on 
the  one  side,  and  with  an  impenetrable  thicket  on  the 
other.  There,  the  decoy  escaping,  the  woods  instantly 
reverberated  from  all  sides  with  the  discharge  of  mus- 
ketry. Captain  Swett,  on  a  two-mile  retreat,  fought 
bravely,  all  the  way  carrying  his  dead  and  wounded 
with  him.  On  the  way,  it  is  said,  he  received  several 
wounds.  At  length,  overcome  by  numbers,  he  was 
struck  to  the  ground  and  hewed  to  pieces  by  toma- 
hawks. Sixty  of  his  men,  English  and  Katicks, 
perished.* 

*  Abbott's  History  of  Maine,  p.  204. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


Expedition  to  Norridgcwock.  —  French  and  Indians  again 
attack  York,  Wells,  Kittery,  Casco,  Berwick,  and  Winter 
Harbor.  — Various  other  Invasions  Early  and  Late.— Fights 
at  Hatflclcl,  at  Adams,  at  Athol,  Mass.,  and  at  Royalston, 
Vt.  —  Peace.  —The  Indians  Vanish  Away. 


EXPEDITION    TO    NOVA    SCOTIA. 

May  21,  1704,  Col.  Benjamin  Church 
was  fitted  out  at  the  command  of  three 
war-vessels,  with  fifty-one  boats  of  vari- 
ous sizes;  one  ship  carried  forty-eight, 
and  another  thirty-two  guns;  the  third 
was  a  province  galley.  Colonel  Church  made  sad  havoc, 
touching  in  various  places,  and  like  a  savage  did 
much  mischief  in  the  enemy's  country,  killing  many, 
and  here  and  there  spreading  death  and  desolation. 
Governor  Dudley  reported  to  his  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lature that  "Colonel  Church  had  destroyed  all  the 
settlements  in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Eoyal  and  had 
taken  one  hundred  prisoners  and  a  large  amount  of 
plunder  with  the  loss  only  of  six  men." 

In  the  winter  of   1705,  at   Winter   Harbor,  near  the 
mouth   of   the   Saco  River,  the  fort   was   fortified,  and 


336  INDIAN   WARS. 

Colonel  Hilton  was  sent  with  two  hundred  and 
seventy  men,  twenty  of  whom  were  friendly  Indians, 
to  attack  the  French  Missionary  Station  at  Norridge- 
wock.  They  advanced  in  dead  of  winter  on  snow- 
shoes,  bearing  in  their  packs  food  for  twenty  days. 

This  adventure  caused  the  calling  of  a  council  in 
Canada,  and  the  Indians  were  induced  to  become 
allies  to  the  French  as  usual,  and  they  met  them  in 
council  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The 
missionaries,  of  course,  sought  favor  by  religious  ser- 
vices, and  at  Norridgewock,  the  Indians,  taking  a 
hint,  had  fled  away.  (See  further  as  to  this  on  page 
274.) 

In  another  direction,  the  governor  (Subucase)  of 
Nova  Scotia,  had  raised  an  army  of  five  hundred  and 
fifty  French  and  Indians,  under  the  Indian  leader, 
Assacombuit.  In  the  contest  there  and  thereabout 
among  the  English  settlements,  many  were  slam  by 
the  tribes;  one  hundred  and  forty  were  taken  pris- 
oners. On  either  side,  it  was  "blood  for  blood," 
arson  for  arson,  prisoner  for  prisoner. 

In  1707,  August  10,  the  English  invaded  Port 
Koyal,  but  failed  in  this. 

Whereupon  the  French  and  Indians  came  down 
again,  threatening  all  the  garrisons  of  Maine  now  only 
remaining,  to  wit:  Kittery,  Berwick,  York,  Wetts, 
Casco,  and  Winter  Harbor. 


AN  ATTACK  UPON  THE  SHALLOPS.       337 
WINTER  HARBOR. 

Among  other  outrages,  they  fell  in  upon  Winter 
Harbor,  Sept.  21,  1707,  one  hundred  and  fifty  in 
number.  They  were  seen  coming  to  land  in  a  fleet  of 
fifty  canoes,  three  fighting  redmeri  in  each  canoe. 

There  were  two  shallops  in  the  harbor,  in  the 
charge  of  eight  men  only.  And  as  this  fleet  came 
paddling  in  with  hideuos  yells,  these  eight  mariners 
gave  them  a  shot  from  the  shallop.  By  this  onset, 
some  of  the  canoes  were  crippled.  But  the  others 
pushed  forward  to  surround  the  shallops.  Upon  this, 
the  eight  heroes  abandoned  one  of  the  vessels,  and 
boarding  the  other,  and  spreading  sail,  endeavored  to 
put  to  sea. 

The  Indians  in  time  had  boarded  the  other  shallop, 
raised  the  sail,  and  started  in 'pursuit. 

The  Indians,  being  the  poorer  mariners,  and  in  the 
slowest  shallop,  fell  too  far  astern  to  do  much 
execution.  Yet  the  eight  Englishmen,  had  lost 
one  man,  Benjamin  Daniel,  killed  on  the  shallop ; 
the  loss  of  the  Indians,  in  killed  and  wounded,  was 
about  thirty.  At  length  the  fort  discharged  a  cannon,, 
and  the  Indians  ventured  no  further  assault.* 

THE     BRIDAL     PARTY. 

On  Sept.  16,  1712,  there  was  a  great  wedding  at 
Wells,  in  one  of  its  garrisons.  A  young  man,  Elisha 

*  Williams'  History  of  Maine,  Vol.  1,  p.  55. 


338  INDIAN  WARS. 

Plaisted,  of  Portsmouth,  was  to  be  married  to 
Hannah  Wheelwright,  a  young  lady  of  much  merit. 
The  guests  were  numerous,  some  coming  on  horse- 
back, and  some  by  water  from  Portsmouth  and  other 
adjacent  towns,  and  the  bridegroom  being  attended  by 
an  imposing  cavalcade  of  young  men  and  maidens. 
The  nuptials  were  celebrated  with  much  hilarity. 

But  during  the  ceremonies  a  force  of  nearly  two 
hundred  Indians,  coming  down  from  the  forest,  had 
concealed  themselves  in  a  thicket  near  the  narrow 
way,  which  the  great  bridal  party  were  to  take  that 
night  on  their  return  from  the  wedding.  Missing 
some  of  their  horses  (stolen),  a  party  went  out  after 
them,  two  of  whom  fell  dead,  and  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Tucker  was  taken  captive.  The  report  of 
guns  alarmed  the  party  and  the  entire  garrison. 
Many  military-men  being  present,  they  mounted 
their  steeds  and  led  off  in  pursuit  of  the  foe. 
Plaisted  himself  led  one  of  the  squads  of  seven  or 
eight.  They  fell  into  the  ambuscade,  every  horse  was 
shot  down,  one  of  the  men  was  killed,  and  Plaisted 
was  carried  into  captivity.  The  tribe,  though  pursued 
by  a  great  force,  made  good  their  retreat  into  the 
dense  wilderness.  Some  time  afterwards,  as  appears, 
the  ransom  of  the  gallant  Plaisted  was  obtained  by 
his  father  at  the  cost  of  £300  ($1500).* 

*  Abbott's  History  of  Maine,  pp.  283-4. 


339 


SCITUATE. 

On  page  208  mere  mention  is  made  of  the  attack 
on  this  town  in  the  days  of  King  Philip,  and  we 
here  give  place  to  a  more  specific  account  of  it. 

This  conflict  was  on  May  20,  1676.  "The  Indians 
first  burnt  the  saw-mill  on  Herring  Brook;  then  Capt. 
Joseph  Sylvester's  house;  then  the  house  of  William 
Blackmore,  who  was  killed  the  same  day. 

"In  their  attack  upon  the  garrison-house,  they  were* 
bravely  repulsed;  but  proceeding  in  their  work,  they 
mortally  wounded  John  James;  and  during  the  day 
reduced  as  many  as  nineteen  houses  and  barns  to 
ashes.  They  were  repulsed,  however,  towards  night, 
and  driven  from  the  town.  Capt.  Michael  Pierce  was 
killed  near  Pawtuckct."  * 

HATFIELD. 

As  history  has  it,f  we  have  been  told  how,  on  the 
19th  of  October,  1675,  seven  hundred  Indians  invaded 
Hatfield  and  fought  desperately,  and  how  previously 
(May  30,  1675)  six  hundred  Indians  had  entered  this 
town,  set  fire  to  twelve  buildings  within  its  for- 
tifications, and  then  made  an  attack  upon  some 
men  in  the  meadow,  and  upon  the  fortified  houses. 
The  people  (twenty-five  from  Hadley)  rallied, 
killed  twenty-five  Indians,  one  apiece  to  each 

*  Gazeteer  of  Massachusetts,  by  Rev.  Elias  Nason,  p.  464. 
ilbid.,  pp.  250-1. 


S40  INDIAN   WARS. 

of  the  gallant  "volunteers.  How  in  October  they 
again  beset  the  town,  as  we  have  shown.  How  again 
in  September,  1677,  fifty  Indians  came  down  the 
Connecticut  upon  Hatfield,  shot  three  men  outside 
of  the  fortifications,  took  captives,  and  made  sad 
havoc  among  the  women  and  children.  And  how 
in  Wrentham  the  Indians  burnt  every  house  in  town 
save  two  ;  and  from  these  they  were  only  prevented 
by  the  small-pox,  which  prevailed  within. 

Conflicts  like  these  were  going  on  throughout  the 
New-England  settlements  then ;  and,  although  fifty 
dreary  years  had  elapsed,  there  was  as  yet  no  deliv- 
erance from  daily  and  nightly  anxieties,  from  the 
fagot,  torch,  nor  from  the  sight  of  blood. 

Forts  and  garrisons  were  as  common  as  the  cot. 

It  was  thus,  from  town  to  town,  for  fifty  years, 
the  war  went  on,  nearly  all  the  way  continually ; 
and  now,  Aug.  26,  1746,  nine  hundred  French  and 
Indians  invade  the  town  of  Adams,  Mass.  It  had  a 
fort  which  had  been  constructed  in  1744,  and  is  now 
gallantly  and  successfully  defended  under  the  lead 
of  Col.  Hawks,  who  kills  forty-five  of  the  assail- 
ants. 

Three  hundred  French  and  Indians  again  invaded 
it,  Aug.  2, 1748 ;  and  Col.  E.  Williams,  with  a  gallant 
force,  defended  it. 

In   1746,   at  Athol,   Mass.,   Ezekiel    Wallingford, 


CRUEL   CONFLICTS.  £41 

while  on  his  way  to  a  garrison,  was  slain  by  the 
Indians ;  and,  in  the  following  year,  Jason  Bahcock 
was  carried  into  captivity. 

In  August,  1747,  ElisJia  Clark  of  South  Hampton 
was  killed  by  the  Indians  at  his  barn;  and  Capt. 
Ephraim  Williams,  Eliakim  Wright,  and  Ebenezer 
Kingsley  were  killed  near  Lake  George  at  about  the 
same  time. 

In  1754  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  was  attacked  by  heart- 
less savages.  A  Mr.  Owen  and  his  children  were 
slain ;  and  again  in  the  next  year,  several  persons 
fell  by  the  blade  of  the  tomahawk  in  the  same 
neighborhood. 

Many  invasions  and  many  murders  had  thus  trans- 
pired, and  were  still  happening  up  to  1763. 

CONFLICTS   AGAIN  AMONG  THEMSELVES. 

During  1757  the  Mohegans  were  again  obliged  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  Narragansetts  and 
Nehantics,  who  were  assisted,  at  times,  by  two  Mas- 
sachusetts tribes,  the  Pocomtocks  and  Norwootucks. 
On  one  occasion  some  Pequots  allured  a  Mohegan 
canoe  to  shore,  and  thus  enabled  a  party  of  Pocom- 
tocks, who  were  lying  in  ambush,  to  surprise  and 
massacre  the  crew.  Pessicus,  with  a  large  force, 
invaded  the  Mohegan  country,  and  once  more  held 
Uncas  besieged  in  his  fortress.  A  small  body  of 


S42  INDIAN   WARS. 

English  was  sent  by  the  Colony  of  Connecticut  to 
relieve  him.  Its  very  appearance  caused  the  Narra- 
gansetts  to  retreat ;  and  the  Mohegans,  rushing  out 
upon  them,  changed  their  retreat  into  a  rout.  The 
invaders  fled  tumultuously  towards  their  own 
country,  and  were  furiously  pursued  by  the  Mohe- 
gans,  who  overtook  and  killed  many  of  them  while 
struggling  through  the  thickets,  or  floundering  across 
the  streams. 

In  the  early  part  of  1661,  Uncas  attacked  the 
Indians  of  Quabaug  in  the  eastern  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts, killed  some,  made  others  prisoners,  and 
carried  off  property,  as  the  sufferers  alleged,  to  the 
value  of  thirty-three  pounds  sterling. 

WAR  FARTHER   NORTH,   1746-1780. 

The  Indians  usually  extended  their  wigwams 
along  the  banks  of  rivers,  and  sought  the  sea-shores 
rather  than  the  deeper  woods  in  the  north.  Hence 
Vermont  suffered  less  from  their  invasions  than  the 
other  New-England  States :  yet  (1746)  in  the  town  of 
Vernon,  Bridgman's  Fort  \v  as  taken  and  destroyed  by 
them,  and  several  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
were  slain.  On  the  27th  of  July,  1755,  Caleb  Howe, 
Hilkiah  Grout ,  and  Benja.  G-affield  were  waylaid  and 
fired  upon  while  on  their  return  from  their  labor 
in  the  field.  At  the  Fort  the  tribes  made 


CONFLICTS  AT  ROYALTON.  343 

prisoners  of  the  families  of  those  above  named, 
including  their  wives  and  eleven  children,  and  sold 
them  into  captivity  in  Canada. 

Other  depredations  were  committed.  In  1756 
Capt.  Melvin  with  twenty  men,  on  his  way  from 
Charlestown,  N.H.,  to  Hoosic  Fort,  was  fired  upon 
by  Indians.  A  conflict  followed,  and  several  were 
killed.  During  the  wars  the  frontier  towns  were 
frequently  alarmed  by  Indian  scouts,  but  were  not 
often  molested.  On  Aug.  9,  1780,  they  took  three 
men  captive  in  BARNARD  ;  and  in  October  of  that 
year  they  invaded  ROYALTON  on  White  River, 
then  a  town  of  three  hundred  inhabitants.  The 
invaders  were  made  up  mostly  of  Indians,  and  were 
led  by  one  Horton,  a  British  lieutenant.  Their 
first  design  was  to  attack  Newbury ;  but,  upon  hear- 
ing of  its  being  fortified,  they  fell  in  upon  Royalton. 
It  was  on  Monday  morning,  Oct.  16 ;  first  they 
searched  the  house  of  John  Hatchinson,  near  the  line 
of  Tunbridge,  and  took  him  and  his  brother  prisoners  ; 
thence  advanced  to  Robert  Haven's ;  killed  Thomas 
Pember  and  JElias  Button  ;  thence  to  Joseph  Knee- 
land 's,  and  took  him,  his  father,  Simeon  Belknap,  Criles 
Cribs,  and  Jonathan  captives;  thence  to  the  house 
of  Elias  Curtis,  and  made  him,  John  Kent,  and  Prter 
Mason  prisoners.  Thence  they  divided  into  parties, 
and  proceeded  to  plunder  the  dwelling-houses,  and 
bring  in  other  prisoners. 


346  INDIAN   WARS. 

renowned  temples  :  he  left  nothing,  nothing,  but 
now  and  then  a  sample  of  the  bow  and  arrow, 
the  chisel,  the  rude  axe,  and  the  mortar  made  of 
stone. 

Seized  thus,  the  settlers  proud  dominion  share 

By  force  of  conquest  all  this  region  fair  ; 

From  thence,  for  aye,  to  lay  the  forest  low, 

To  fence  fair  fields,  and  drive  the  crooked  plough, 

They  waste  the  wigwams  which  for  ages  spread 

The  wild,  and  build  broad  mansions  in  their  stead; 

School- houses,  temples  to  the  God  of  grace, 

And  cities  proud,  peculiar  to  the  race 

Of  Adam.     Diligent  through  honest  toil, 

They  reap  rich  harvest  from  the  virgin  soil. 

From   culture  urged  with  bold,  aggressive  sway, 

Wild  beasts,  becoming  frantic,  flee  away. 

As  ravenous  bears,  and  moose,  and  wolves  recede, 

Neat  cattle  and  the  noble  horse  succeed 

In  aid  of  husbandry.     Full  flocks  abound; 

The  herds  increase  as  roll  the  seasons  round ; 

The  desert  e'en,  through  culture's  grateful  care, 

Soon  set  with  fruit,  begins  to  bloom  and  bear; 

Fair  Nature  smiles  responsive  to  the  plan 

Of  faith  in  God  and  industry  of  man.* 

*  From  my  Epics,  Lyrics,  and  Ballads,  p.  342. 


HEROISM   OF  HANNAH  DUSTOK 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

HER   HISTORY. 

Faith  and  Valor  of  the  Mothers.  —  Hannah's  Biography.  —  Her 
Children.  —  Their  Names  and  Ages.  —  Her  Captivity  with  Mary 
and  Samuel.  —  Indians  surround  Haverhill.  —  Their  Mode  of 
"Warfare.  —  What  they  then  did.  —  What  Thomas,  her  Husband, 
did.  —  His  Biography.  —  His  Heroism  then  poetized. — Names  of 
the  Twenty-seven  slain  by  the  Tribes. — Island  Contoocook. — 
Its  Location,  and  Distance  from  Haverhill.  —What  Hannah  did 
there.— Names,  &c.,  of  her  Thirteen  Children.  —  Mrs.  Neff's  Biog- 
raphy.—  Her  Generous  Deeds.  —  Samuel's  Brief  History. —The 
Gantlet.  —  Mode  of  Scalping. — Savages:  Number  slain. — Cap- 
tives' Arrival  Home. — Cotton  Mather  greets  them  in  Boston. — 
General  Court  makes  them  Presents;  Governor  of  Maryland  also. 
—  Recapitulation  as  an  Epic. 

'EROISM  is  a  divine  attribute.     Patriotism 
approves  and   honors   it.     Humanity  fer- 
«    vently  and   ambitiously  inclines  to  cher- 
•*    ish  it. 

To  make  a  record  of  its   achievements 
becomes  the  pleasure  as  well  as  the  duty  of  a  gener- 
ous people,  who  are  never  unmindful  of  their  heroes. 
Hence  the  exploit  of  our  heroine,  with  her  assistants 
Neff  and  Leonardson  (the  boy),  will  ever  be  revered. 

347 


C48  HEROISM  OF   HANNAH  DUSTCN. 

Forever  will  its  history  be  remembered,  transmitted, 
and  cherished  as  a  household  treasure.  Like  an 
heir-loom,  it  imparts  inspiration,  —  an  inspiration 
which,  diffusing  itself,  shall  tend  to  elevate  the  heart- 
felt aspirations  of  the  sons  and  daughters,  descend- 
ants of  the  old  New-England  mothers  ^  throughout 
the  uncounted  ages  yet  to  come,  —  mothers  who 
lived  in  a  day  of  trial,  but  whose  truthfulness  his- 
toric hath  never  been  surpassed,  and  whose  endur- 
ance, faithfulness,  and  valor,  tried  and  made  manifest 
in  the  midst  of  savages,  are  in  this  volume  truth- 
fully exemplified. 

HER  BIOGRAPHY. 

Hannah  Duston  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  Dec. 
23,  1657 ;  was  the  daughter  of  Michael  and  Han- 
nah Webster  Emerson;  was  married  to  Thomas 
Duston  Dec.  3,  1677  ;  and,  up  to  the  date  of  her  cap- 
tivity, had  become  the  mother  of  a  family  of  children, 
twelve  at  that  date,  thirteen  in  all. 

THE  INDIAN   ONSET. 

She  was  captured  at  Haverhill  March  15,  1697 ; 
her  infant  then  being  only  a  week  old. 

Mary  Neff,  then  a  widow,  a  neighbor,  and  friend, 
was  with  her,  and,  for  the  tune  being,  was  having  a 
care  for  the  household. 


HER   HISTORY.  049 

The  tribes  throughout  New  England,  as  appears, 
had,  for  several  years  prior  to  this  attack,  beset  the 
English  settlements  by  trespassing  upon  their  corn- 
fields, killing  their  cattle,  taking  and  carrying  away 
captives,  and  daily  and  nightly  murdering  the  inhab- 
itants, burning  down  their  barns,  their  lonely  cots, 
and  their  infant  villages. 

Always,  in  their  depredations  upon  the  Pilgrim  set- 
tlers, they  had  been  cunning,  ferocious,  coy,  and  cruel. 
Previous  to  this  Duston  massacre,  they  had  taken  at 
Worcester,  Mass.,  Samuel  Leonardson,  a  youth  of 
some  fourteen  summers,  and  had  him  along  with 
them  among  their  captives. 

At  HaverhiU,  on  that  fifteenth  day  of  March,  1697, 
according  to  the  tactics  of  Indian  warfare,  they  di- 
vided their  tribes  into  small  parties,  and  made  the 
attack  all  around  the  town,  everywhere  very  nearly 
at  the  same  moment ;  so  that  on  that  day,  in  and 
about  that  little  inland,  rural  village,  they  took  and 
carried  away  thirteen  captives,  burned  down  nine 
dwelling-houses,  and  killed  twenty-seven  of  its  in- 
habitants; —  men,  women,  and  children. 

THE   SLAIN. 

The  individuals  then  and  there  killed  were  John 
Keezer,  his  father,  and  son  George ;  John  Kimball 
and  his  mother  Hannah;  Sarah  Eastman;  Thomas 


350  HEROISM  OF   HANNAH   DUSTON. 

Eaton;  Thomas  Emerson,  his  wife  Elizabeth,  and 
two  children,  —  Timothy  and  Sarah;  Daniel  Brad- 
ley, his  wife  Hannah,  and  two  children,  —  Mary  and 
Hannah ;  Martha  Dow,  daughter  of  Stephen  Dow ; 
Joseph,  Martha,  and  f$arah  Bradley,  children  of 
Joseph  Bradley ;  Thomas  and  Mehitable  Kingsbury ; 
Thomas  Wood  and  his  daughter  Susannah;  John 
Woodman  and  his  daughter  Susannah;  Zechariah 
White ;  and  Martha,  the  infant  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Duston. 

THE  OLD  COT. 

Mrs.  DUSTON'S  house  stood  not  far  from  the  left 
bank  of  the  Merrimack  River,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  road,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  that  little 
hamlet,  now  the  city  of  Haverhill,  populous,  opu- 
lent, and  thriving. 

FIEST  SIGHT  OP   SAVAGES. 

On  that  day,  THOMAS  DUSTON  (the  husband) 
was  in  some  way  startled  in  his  field  at  the  ap- 
proach of  savages.  He  seized  his  gun,  mounted  his 
horse,  and  driving  his  children  before  him,  seven 
in  number,  —  ages  from  two  to  seventeen  years,  — 
all  escaped.  It  has  been  said  that  guns  were 
fired  at  him,  and  that  he  returned  the  shots  ;  but  this 
statement  is  beclouded  with  at  least  some  doubt.  It 
is,  however,  said,  and  perhaps  correctly,  that  the  In 


HER   HISTORY.  351 

dians  did  not  pursue  him  far,  for  fear  of  the  English  ,• 
and  that  lie  with  the  children  took  shelter  in  an  old 
house  supposed  to  have  been  used  occasionally  as  a 
garrison. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Indians  at  the  homestead 
had  seized  Mrs.  Duston,  Mary,  and  the  infant ;  forced 
the  child  from  Mary's  arms,  and  killed  it  against 
an  apple-tree  ;  and,  pillaging  and  setting  fire  to  the 
dwelling-house,  drove  their  captives  away  into  the 
wilderness,  —  a  wilderness  then  dense,  dark,  pathless, 
and  thorny ;  in  the  confusion,  Mrs.  Duston  having 
but  one  shoe  to  her  feet. 

The  cold  snows  of  winter  had  not  entirely  disap- 
peared. Yet  were  they  compelled  to  advance,  reclin- 
ing at  night  upon  the  frosty  earth  to  obtain  rest  and 
strength,  and  then  up  at  break  of  day,  continuing 
their  ramblings  northward,  by  and  near  to  the  Mer- 
rimack,  through  the  wilderness ;  thus  onward  until 
they  reached  that  Indian  fort  on  the  island  between 
the  waters  of  the  Contoocook  and  Merrimack  Rivers. 

ISLAND  CONTOOCOOK. 

As  appears,  this  island,  containing  about  two  acres, 
then  (and  now)  covered  with  a  dense  forest,  was 
the  adopted  home  of  one  of  the  tribes ;  and,  from  its 
surroundings,  it  served  to  be  a  strong  fortification 
against  their  common  enemy,  the  English  settlers. 


352  HEROISM  OF  HANNAH  DUSTON. 

For  fifteen  days  they  had  continued  their  march 
through  the  forest,  —  a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles, 
according  to  our  reckoning ;  but,  according  to  the 
Indian  computations  of  that  time,  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles. 

But,  before  they  reached  the  island,  the  tribe 
divided  into  two  parts :  the  one  with  several  captives 
(among  whom  was  Hannah  Bradley,  whose  brief 
biography  will  appear  on  a  subsequent  page)  con- 
tinued still  farther  onward  to  another  place ;  while 
the  other  company,  with  Mrs.  Duston,  Neff,  and 
Samuel,  crossed  over  in  their  birch  canoes,  to  dwell, 
at  least  for  a  night,  on  the  island  between  the  safe 
.surroundings  at  the  junction  of  these  two  beautiful 
rivers. 

On  their  way  the  Indians  had  talked  of  another 
fort  of  theirs  in  Canada ;  and  had  intimated  to  the 
captives,  that,  upon  their  arrival  there,  they  would  be 
held  to  run  the  gantlet,  according  to  the  law  and 
custom  of  the  tribes. 

.     GANTLET. 

This  was  usually  performed  thus :  The  group  was 
made  up  by  "  two  files  of  Indians  of  both  sexes,  of 
all  ages,  containing  all  who  could  be  mustered  in 
the  village ;  and  the  unhappy  prisoners  were  obliged 
to  run  between  them,  when  they  were  scoffed  at 


HER  HISTORY.  353 

and  beaten  by  each  one  as  they  passed,  and  were 
made  marks  of,  at  which  the  younger  Indians  threw 
their  hatchets." 

As  if  to  add  to  these  worst  of  cruelties,  the  tribes 
often  made  sale  of  their  captives  to  the  FRENCH 
in  Canada,  —  then  hostile  to  the  English  settlers  in 
New  England,  —  to  be  held  to  service  by  them  as 
slaves. 

In  sight  of  all  the  severities  to  which  they  had 
already  been  subjected,  and  in  view  of  impending 
disgrace  and  danger,  these  three  (Duston,  Neff,  and 
Samuel)  secretly  took  counsel  together,  and  resolved 
to  liberate  themselves. 

HOW  TO  KILL  AN  INDIAN. 

Thereupon  the  boy  Samuel  inquired  of  one  of 
the  tribe  ("  Bampico  ")  as  to  where  he  would  strike 
if  he  would  kill  a  man  instantly,  and  how  he  would 
take  off  the  scalp. 

The  Indian,  bringing  his  finger  against  his  temple, 
made  answer,  "Strike  him  there!"  and  he  then 
proceeded  to  tell  him  how  to  take  off  the  scalp. 

SCALPING. 

This  feat  is  performed  by  the  savage  as  follows : 
Placing  his  foot  upon  the  neck  of  his  prostrate  victim, 
he  twists  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand  into  the  scalp- 


354  HEEOISM  OF   HANNAH  DUSTON. 

lock ;  and  then,  cutting  with  a  knife  in  his  right  hand 
a  circular  gash  around  the  lock,  he  tears  the  scalp 
from  the  head,  and  fastens  it  to  his  girdle  with  a  yell 
of  triumph. 

The  scalps  upon  their  belts  on  public  occasions 
were  worn  to  designate  the  warriors. 

ON   THE  ISLAND. 

There,  on  that  night,  March  30,  1697,  the  camp- 
fires  in  front  of  the  wigwams  blazed  pleasantly ;  and 
the  tribe  in  front  of  them,  reclining,  and  burdened 
with  the  fatigue  of  a  restless  journey,  of  course  slept 
soundly. 

Having  a  heed  to  all  this,  the  captives  patiently 
awaited  the  midnight  hour ;  and  then,  cautiously, 
noiselessly,  obtaining  the  tomahawks,  and  moving 
with  concert  of  action,  they  struck  the  deadly  blow. 
None  of  the  Indians  escaped  alive,  save  one  old 
squaw  covered  with  wounds,  and  an  Indian  boy, 
whom  the  captives  did  not  incline  to  pursue. 

NUMBER  OF  VICTIMS. 

Ten  of  them  were  slain.  The  captives,  in  their 
haste,  at  first  left  the  wigwams  without  full  evidence 
of  what  had  been  done ;  yet  soon  returned,  took  off 
the  ten  scalps,  taking  also  with  them  an  Indian 
gun  and  tomahawk  ;  and  then,  seeking  to  avoid  pur- 


STATUE  OF  MRS.  DUSTON  ON  THK  ISLAND,  ruse  ;)o4. 


HER   HISTORY.  355 

suit,  they  scuttled  the  canoes,  all  but  one ;  and  in 
that  they  floated  down  the  Merrimack  as  far  as  they 
could  come  for  the  falls,  and  thence  along  its  left 
bank,  as  tradition  has  it,  until  they  arrived  home 
safely  at  Haverhill. 

On  the  21st  of  April  in  the  same  year  (1697),  tney 
visited  Boston ;  carrying  with  them,  as  evidence  of 
their  achievement,  the  scalps,  the  gun,  and  toma- 
hawk ;  and,  on  the  8th  of  June  thereafterwards, 
the  General  Court  awarded  to  Mrs.  Duston  a  gift  of 
X25,  and  to  Mary  Neff  and  Samuel  Leonardson 
X12  10s.  each.  Col.  Nicholson,  then  governor 
of  Maryland,  upon  hearing  of  the  transaction,  also 
transmitted  complimentary  presents  to  them.  Many 
thanks,  as  well  as  material  gifts,  were  extended  to 
them  by  many  others. 

SONS  AND  DAUGHTERS. 

The  children  of  Thomas  and  Hannah  Duston 
were,  — 


Hannah,  born  Aug.  22,  1078. 
Elizabeth,  born  May  7,  1680. 
Mary,  born  Nov.  4,  1681  (died 

Oct.  18,  1696). 
Thomas,  born  Jan.  5,  1683. 
Natti.,  born  May  16,  1685. 
John,  born  Feb.   2,   1686  (died 

Jan.  28,  1690). 
Sarah,  born  July  4,  1688. 


Abigail,  born  October,  1690. 

Jona.,  born  Jan.  15,  1691-92. 

Timothy,  born  Sept.  14,  1694. 

Mehitable,  twin-sister  to  Timo- 
thy (died  Dec.  16,  1694). 

Martha,  born  March  9,  1696-97; 
slain  by  the  Indians  March  15, 
1697. 

And  Lydia,  born  Oct.  4,  1698. 


856  HEROISM  OP  HANNAH  DUSTON. 


MAKY  NEFF. 

Mary  was  a  native  of  Haverhill,  born  Sept.  18, 
1646  ;  was  the  daughter  of  George  and  Joanna  Cor- 
liss ;  and  married  William  Neff  June  23,  1665. 

William  died  in  February,  1681.  Mary  died  Oct. 
22,  1720,  aged  seventy-four  years. 

Mary,  at  her  marriage,  left  the  parental  homestead  ; 
and,  up  to  the  time  of  her  captivity,  resided  on  the 
rise  of  ground  on  the  left  side  of  the  road  leading 
from  the  compact  part  of  Haverhill  to  the  old  farm 
where  little  Martha  Duston,  the  infant,  was  mur- 
dered against  an  apple-tree,  and  where  the  Duston 
dwelling-house,  on  that  day,  was  burnt  down  by  the 
Indians. 

Mary's  residence  was  at  the  same  place,  now  or 
formerly  owned  by  William  Swasey.  It  was,  in 
fact,  a  gift  on  her  nuptial  day  from  her  father.  It 
was  situated  about  a  mile  north  of  the  village  of 
Haverhill. 

Mary,  as  well  as  Mrs.  Duston,  was  indeed  a  New- 
England  mother.  At  her  capture  by  the  Indians 
she  was  a  widow,  and  was  Mrs.  Duston's  senior 
eleven  years.  Upon  notice  that  her  neighbor  and 
friend  Mrs.  Duston  was  sick  and  in  need  of  care, 
Mary  was  at  her  bedside. 

From  this  and  other  evidence,  we  may  well  cherish 


HER   HISTORY.  357 

the  belief,  that  the  conduct  of  the  household,  the 
good  health,  and  in  fact  the  well-being,  of  that 
whole  neighborhood,  belonged  mostly  to  Mary.  They 
found  in  her,  daily,  not  only  a  generous,  genial  dis- 
position, but  great  strength  of  mind,  and  force  of 
character,  —  a  force  in  the  sight  of  justice  and  duty 
too  strong  to  be  abashed  or  dismayed  by  the  war- 
whoop  cry,  or  to  be  disconcerted  at  sight  of  the 
tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  In  fact,  through  all 
trial,  Mary  persistently  adhered  to  the  matron  of  her 
charge ;  hugged  little  Martha  to  her  bosom  until 
the  child  was  torn  from  her  embrace  to  be  slain  of 
the  furious  tribe  ;  and  then,  as  ever,  adhering  to  the 
care  and  encouragement  of  its  sick,  heart-stricken, 
bereaved  mother. 

SAMUEL  LEONARDSON. 

Of  Samuel's  parentage,  of  his  birth,  death,  or 
burial,  we  have  obtained  no  account*  The  three  ex- 
traordinary incidents  of  Samuel's  life  —  involved  in 
his  capture  at  Worcester  by  the  Indians,  his  agency 
in  the  slaughter  of  savages  in  the  Contoocook,  and 
of  his  sedate,  unostentatious  presence  in  Boston  April 
21,  1697,  and  then  again  on  the  8th  of  June  the 
then  next  following,  there  to  receive  from  "  the 
Great  and  General  Court "  of  Massachusetts  a  com- 
plimentary reward  for  the  heroic  manhood  of  his 


853  HEROISM  OF  HANNAH  DUSTON. 

youth  —  are  probably  the  first  and  last  that  earth  will 
ever  hear  of  that  heroic,  generous-hearted,  gallant 
boy. 

The  account  herein  given  of  the  war  and  blood 
at  Haverhill,  and  of  the  slaughter  of  the  tribe  in  the 
Contoocook,  well  known  of  tradition  and  general  his- 
tory, was  carefully  written  down  by  that  celebrated 
historian  and  divine,  Cotton  Mather,  from  the  lips 
of  Duston,  Neff,  and  Leonardson,  then  in  Boston, 
while  they  were  receiving  the  plaudits  of  that 
afflicted  generation  of  English  settlers,  and  while 
they  still  held  in  their  hands  the  sanguine  trophies 
of  their  world-renowned  victory. 

Several  years  since,  I  published  in  my  "  Merri- 
mack,"  page  36,  in  epic,  descriptive  form,  a  brief 
statement  of  that  event  at  Haverhill  and  in  the  Con- 
toocook, which  we  here 

* 

RECAPITULATE. 

And  this  is  war  !  and  such  in  wrath  makes  haste 
To  lay  the  white  man's  cot  and  village  waste  • 
That  deals  in  daggers  poisoned,  coated  o'er, 
The  fagot-torch,  and  gluts  on  human  gore. 
Against  such  crime  the  settlers  strong  unite  : 
In  various  ways  they  rally  for  the  fight : 
Some  seek  defence  by  force  of  gun  and  dogs  ; 
Some  take  to  garrisons  strong  built  of  logs ; 


HER   HISTORY.  359 

And  some  in  squads  with  weapons  rude  assail 
The  foe,  and  fierce  pursue  the  hidden  trail. 

'Twas  so  at  Newbury  and  at  Bradford  town, 
Far  further  north,  and  seaward  further  down ; 
Along  the  vale,  where'er  the  white  man  dwelt, 
Still  unprovoked  the  self-same  scourge  was  felt. 
And  at  old  Haverhill,  as  Mather  tells, 
The  flaring  fagot  burns  where  Duston  dwells. 
That  faithful  father,  frenzied  to  dismay, 
Hastens  the  flight  of  children  far  away  : 
But  not  the  infant :  that  in  wrath  is  slain. 
Its  mother,  captured,  trudges  in  the  train 
Of  savages  ;  while  in  the  clouds  are  shown 
The  crackling  ruins  of  an  English  home. 

The  tribes  evade  pursuit :  they  skirt  the  glen, 
Fast    hastening    through    the    fields    away ;     and 

then 

Dense  woods  and  sable  night  conceal  the  foe. 
There,  couched  on  broken  boughs,  in  beds  of  snow, 
Repose  they  seek.     Still  mindful  of  the  past, 
Her  heart  depressed,  by  sleep  benumbed  at  last, 
There  dreams  that  mother,  weary,  sick,  at  rest, 
Of  happy  home,  of  father,  children  blest ; 
Of  life's  sweet  joys,  profusely,  kindly  given  j 
Of  angel-visits  from  the  throne  of  heaven  ; 


8GO  HEROISM  OP   HANNAH   DUSTON. 

Of  that  true  bliss  religious  life  inspires, 

That  wafts  the  soul  above  earth's  frail  desires. 

Thus  moved  congenial  thought  her  dreamy  mi  rid 

As  moved  that  mighty  forest  in  the  wind  ; 

Thus  on,  till  twilight  gray  with  breaking  beam 

Now  turns  the  tenor  of  a  fleeting  dream  ; 

When,  half  aroused,  before  her  vision  gaze, 

Appear  grim  visages  and  fagot-blaze  ; 

Tall    spectres    gaunt,   whose    garments    drip   with 

gore 

From  that  infanticide  the  day  before, 
Wrought  strange  convulsions.     Whence  that  fearful 

wail? 
'Twas  Hannah  Duston,  waking  for  the  trail. 

Her  dark  brown  hair  back  on  her  shoulders  spread  , 
The  frosts  of  night  still  on  her  garments  laid. 
At  sight  of  death,  at  sound  of  war-whoop  cry, 
Avenging  justice  flashes  in  her  eye. 
Still,  far  beyond  the  cloud-capt  tree-tops  shown, 
There  gleamed  in  prospect  yet  another  home. 
Light  paints  a  tinge  upon  her  pallid  brow  ; 
And  up  to  God  above  she  made  a  vow  : 
For  on  the  trees  are  marks  of  kindred  blood  ; 
And  vengeance  just  is  whispered  in  the  wood. 
Firm  as  the  granite  hills  that  brave  the  storm 
That  mother's  will  is  fixed,  and  waxes  warm. 


HER  HISTORY.  361 

Yet,  held  to  follow  through  the  rugged  way, 
Kept  equal  step  for  many  a  weary  day, 
('Twas  death  to  falter  'mid  a  savage  throng,) 
With  Mary  Neff  and  boy,  all  move  along 
Through  winding  paths  and  tangled  wildwood  fens, 
Where  prowled  the   wolf,  and  where  the   serpent 

dens : 

Declivities  they  wind,  and  ford  the  brooks 
That  leap  the  mountain-pass  from  granite  rocks ; 
Thence  in  dark  thicket,  then  in  sunlight  gleam, 
And  then  in  boats  of  birch  on  spacious  stream, 
Up  where  old  Contoocook  unites  in  pride 
With  Merrimack,  profound  in  rolling  tide ; 
There,  on  an  island  wild,  are  captives  shown 
The  wigwam  rude,  an  Indian's  favored  home. 
And  there,  on  mats,  around  the  camp-fire  flame 
Seated  in  group,  they  glut  the  slaughtered  game 
Which  hunger  sought ;  and  Night,  now  gathering  in, 
Spreads  her  dark  mantle  o'er  the  woods  within  ; 
While  from  afar  a  gentle  zephyr-breeze 
Plays  grateful  music  on  the  waving  trees, 
Inviting  rest  from  the  rambling  drudge  of  day, 
That  lulls  the  spirit  from  the  world  away. 
Still  does  that  zephyr  omens  strange  portend,  — 
A  baleful  bickering,  some  tragic  end  : 
Yet  ne'er  more  safe,  ne'er  less  by  danger  pressed, 
Than  felt  the  drowsy  foe  reclined  at  rest ; 


3G2  HEROISM  OF   HANNAH   DTTSTON. 

And  sleep  sonorous,  which  fatigue  inspires, 
Drowns  deep  the  tribe  in  front  of  midnight  fires. 
Then  rose  that  mother,  noiseless,  moving  near 
To  Neff ;  breathes  mandates  startling  to  her  ear : 
To  Samuel,  too,  her  vent  of  vengeance  went 
That  fired  his  heart.     They  move  with  joint  intent, 
And  signal  stealth.     Around  the  foe  they  felt, 
And  drew  a  tomahawk  each  from  the  -belt 
That  touched  his  loins  ;  and  then  erect  they  stand, 
Lifting  that  bloody  blade  with  heedful  hand  : 
Down  on  his  guilty  head  three  times  they  strike ; 
And  three  times  three  death  follows  each  alike. 
No  groan  nor  sigh  is  heard,  nor  sign  of  woe  ; 
But  stiff  and  cold  there  lies  the  bloody  foe 
'Neath  clouds  of  night.     The  wigwam  embers  fade  ; 
And  phantom  shadows  stalk  along  the  glade 
In  depth  of  woods  ;  the  hills  are  hushed  aloof ; 
No  voice,  save  from  the  owl  or  hungry  wolf 
That  clamors  for  his  prey.     Yet  as  these  three, 
Once  captive  bound,  now  turn  away  thus  free, 
Bright,   beaming  stars   through   parted   clouds  be- 
tween, 

True  guides  intent,  from  heaven's  arch  serene 
Look  down  ;  while  Truth,  still  valiant  to  prevail 
O'er  wrong,  and  Justice  stern,  with  even  scale, 
Approve  the  deed  :  and  from  that  crimson  glade. 
That  dark,  lone  wigwam  with  unburied  dead, 


HAXXAII  DUSTON  AT  THE  MASSACKE,  page  362. 


HER  HISTORY.  363 

Relieved,  yet  sad,  they  board  the  light  canoe 

To  dip  the  oar  in  hope  of  home,  pursue 

Adown  bright  Merrimac  in  generous  tide, 

That     bears     the     craft     on     high     through     borders 

wide, — 

Thence  paddling  east,  they  gain  a  favored  shore 
Above  the  fall,  where  troubled  waters  roar 
Below,  —  all  safe  at  land. 

The  day-star  rose, 

Nature  anon  awakes  from  night's  repose, 
Wild  birds  from  far,  thick-gathered  in  the  trees, 
Warble  sweet  welcome  on  the  morning  breeze 
To  strange  adventurers;   while  all  that  day 
Along  the  winding  shore  that  leads  the  way 
To  Haverhill,  they  thoughtful  trudge  and  talk, 
What  each  had  seen  in  life's  bewildered  walk, — 
Of  childhood  years  beguiled  with  favorite  toys, — 
Of  love,  —  of  home  delights,  —  of  buried  joys. 

Thus  did  the  women  mutual  converse  hold, 
Till  Samuel  from  mutest  manner  cold 
Bespoke    them    thus:     "What    mean    these    signs    of 

pain  ? 
These     crimson     marks    that     through     my    garments 

stain  ? 

Did  such  from  veins  of  Bampaco  descend, 
Who  gave  me  bow  and  arrow  as  a  friend? 


364  HEROISM  OF  HANNAH   DUSTON. 

Truth  undisguised  these  morning  beams  disclose, 

The  sure  avenger  of  his  dying  woes ! 

Unwelcome  tints!   they  haunt  my  homeward  way 

And  at  the  threshold  threaten  to  betray 

Me  there.     Shall  I,  long-lost,  a  mother's  boy, 

Return  and  pangs  impart  instead  of  joy 

To  such  a  heart  ?    No,  —  leave  me  here ;   unknown, 

To  seek  some  hidden  cave  aloof  from  home! 

Or  send  me,  captive  bound,  to  dwell  again 

In  tents,  afar  from  her  who  mourns  me  slain, — 

Whence  crime  concealed  shall  never  vent  a  stain, 

Nor  rumor  sad,  to  blot  a  cherished  name." 

He  said,  and  there  half  halting  stood 

Till  Mary  chides  him  in  a  different  mood:  — 

"I  pray  thee,  Samuel,  list  to  me  awhile, — 

Misgivings  sad  attend  but  to  beguile 

Thy  youth.     But  list,  —  they  move  me  to  descry 

In  wrong,  if  thou  art  guilty,  so  am  I; 

For  at  the  war-whoop  cry  I  could  have  fled, 

And  shunned  captivity,  its  horrors  dread; 

Yet  would  not  yield  to  fate  that  infant  dear, 

Nor  fail  my  mistress  kind  through  selfish  fear. 

Alarmed,  I  seized  it  from  the  cradle  there;  — 

That  life,  I  begged  a  furied  fiend  to  spare 

At  risk  of  self.     Yet  we  no  favor  gain; 

Our  plea,  our  prayers  most  fervent,  all  in  vain! 


THEIR   TALK.  365 

Impelled,  from  horrors  which  this  heart  had  stung, 

To  our  liege  mother  and  to  thee  I  clung, 

In  bonds  a  comrade  held,  a  volunteer 

In  all  the  dangers  dread  of  such  career. 

I  've  more  to  fear  than  thou,  who,  found  alone, 

Wert  forced  at  Worcester  from  parental  home 

By  brutal  foes.     Grim  cruelties  they  sought, 

But  on  themselves  relentless  vengeance  brought, 

In  which  an  agent  I  indeed  was  one 

To  bear  a  part  in  wrong,  if  wrong  were  done  — 

If  in  the  shed  of  blood  a  crime  it  be, 

To  break  from  hell-born  bondage  to  be  free, 

Then  is  the  fault  in  me  much  more  than  thee, 

Who  had  no  choice  of  lot  nor  chance  to  flee. 

Yet  have  I  faith  from  inward  teachings  given, 

Life's  freedom  gained  is  justified  of  Heaven; 

Whose  care  paternal  henceforth  let  us  trust, 

As  did  our  fathers,  faithful  from  the  first." 

Thus  did  they  talk  of  self,  of  wrong  and  right, 
Meandering  along  till  late  at  night 
Through  narrow  pathways,  hindered  now  and  then 
By  tangled  thicket  dark,  by  brook  and  fen. 
Then  next  by  range  of  hills,  where  lies  at  length 
A  deep  ravine,  and  there,  through  lack  of  strength, 
They  turn  aside  beneath  a  shelving  rock 
O'ergrown  of  spreading  pines ;  thither  to  stop, 
Inclined  to  rest;  but  fain  would  wakeful  keep, 


366  HEROISM   OF  HANNAH  DUSTON. 

Yet,  lost  anon  by  force  of  needful  sleep, 
Eemain  still  there,  till  morn's  refulgent  ray 
Reflected  on  the  wave  of  NASHUA, 
Cast  varied  shadows  in  the  branchy  wood 
Around  the  group. 

There  "mother  Duston"  stood 
Invoking  favors  from  the  throne  of  God 
To  be  bestowed  in  coming  time  for  good 
For  MARY  NEFF,  for  SAMUEL  the  same, 
Her  pilgrim  comrades,  whence  deliverance  came  — 

And  briefly  now,  as  ended  then  her  prayer, 
Addressed  them  each  in  turn  still  waiting  there 
In  kindness  thus :     "  Mary,  to  thee  I  owe 
Much  more  of  debt  than  I  can  e'er  bestow 
Of  earth's  reward.     Thy  truthfulness  of  heart, 
Thy  generous  constancy,  thy  guileless  art, 
In  trial  proved,  this  thankful  soul  reveres; 
May  blessings,  Mary,  crown  thy  future  years; 
My  home  is  thine,  if  home  I  see  again, 
Devoutly  favored,  thou  shalt  there  remain. 

"And  you,  dear  Samuel,  valiant  in  the  past, 
Honest  in  purpose,  faithful  to  the  last, 
No  more  should  doubt.     To  savages  belong 
The  retribution  of  relentless  wrong, 
And  not  to  thee.     Are  not  His  dealings  just 
Who  Israel  led?    Shall  we  our  God  distrust? 


THEIR  TALK.  367 

No.  —  Brood  no  more  of  doubts,  most  noble  boy  I 
Go,  seek  thy  way  to  Worcester;   bear  true  joy 
To  her  who  bore  thee,  and  whose  hallowed  care 
Shall  haste  thee  onward  to  her  presence  there, 
Still  undisguised,  in  truth  of    God  still  led, 
Wash  not  a  stain  from  out  thy  garments  red. 
Thy  deeds  but  known  shall  welcome  truth  impart ; 
They'll  prove  the  valor  of  a  valiant  heart. 
Take  yonder  skiff;   'twill  be  no  trespass  done. 
For  thee  it  drifted  from  a  fate  unknown. 
For  thee  my  voice  in  thanks  shall  hence  ascend; 
Away!   and  blessings  on  thy  life  attend." 

Still  loath  to  part,  yet  harboring  doubts  no  more, 
The  lad,  wide  wafted  on  the  westward  shore, 
His  beckoning  paddle  raised ;   with  aprons,  too, 
The  women,  answering,  waved  their  last  adieu. 

Thence  turning,  —  tearful,  meditating  mild 
On  distant  '•'•dear  ones"  wandered  through  the  wild, 
And  Haverhill  reached ;  to  whom,  from  governors  even, 
Came  generous  gifts  and.  thankful  plaudits  given. 

And  there  they  rest.     In  beauty  bright,  to-day, 
Stand  signal  monuments  to  Duston's  clay. 
Her  noble  deeds  are  held  in  high  renown, 
Sacred  like  heirloom  in  that  ancient  town; 
And  long  as  Merrimac's  bright  waters  glide 
Shall  stand  that  mother's  fame,  still  by  its  side. 


368  HEROISM   OF  HANNAH   DUSTON. 

EEV.     BENJA.    KOLFE. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  1708,  at  break  of  day,  a 
force  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  French  and  Indians 
from  Canada,  after  devastating  other  villages,  came 
past  the  frontier  garrisons  undiscovered,  and  were 
first  seen  near  the  pond  in  Haverhill,  marching  two 
and  two.  John  Keezer  saw  them  first  of  all,  near 
his  house.  He  ran  into  the  village  and  alarmed  the 
inhabitants  by  firing  a  gun  near  the  meeting-house. 

The  enemy  came  down  with  yells  and  "a  sound 
like  whistling." 

Mrs.  Smith,  the  first  person  seen,  as  she  took 
towards  a  garrison,  they  shot.  The  foremost  party 
proceeded  to  the  house  of  Rev.  Mr.  Eolfe;  and 
although  guarded  by  three  soldiers,  his  family  were 
awakened  by  the  war-whoop. 

Mr.  Eolfe  leaped  from  his  bed,  placed  himself 
against  the  door  which  they  were  trying  to  force 
in,  and  called  to  his  soldiers  for  assistance,  but  they 
had  fled  like  sheep.  The  tribe  fired  bullets  through 
the  door.  Mr.  Rolfe,  wounded,  fled  from  the  back 
door;  the  Indians  following,  killed  him  with  toma- 
hawks. Soon  finding  Mrs.  Rolfe,  they  killed  her  and 
murdered  her  infant  against  a  stone  at  the  door. 
Hugar,  a  negro  slave,  ran  away  with  two  of  the 
children  six  and  eight  years  of  age — hid  them  under 
tubs  in  a  cellar  —  and  thereby  their  lives  were  saved. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THOMAS  DUSTON. 

Thomas   Duston's   Bravery.  —  Saves  his  Children.  —  Poetry  to  his 
Praise  by  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Hale.  —  Order  to  Duston  in  his  Garrison. 

—  Story  of  Joseph  Whittaker. —  Petition  of  Thomas  Duston.  — 
Captivity  of  Hannah  Bradley.  —  Her  Eeturn.  —  After  Six  Years, 
her  Second  Capture.  — Her  Long  Sufferings.  —  Birth  ami  Slaughter 
of  her  Infant.  — Two  Years  a  Slave  to  a  Frenchman  in  Canada. 

—  Her  Husband  finds  and  redeems  her.  —  Their  Ileturn  to  Boston 
and  to  Haverhill.  — How  the  Indian  Battle-Axe  fell  Heavily  upon 
the  New-England  Mothers.  —A  Word  to  the  Praise  of  their  Faith 
and  Valor. 

jT  is  an  axiom  commonly  conceded,  that  great 
occasions  —  as  when  the  lives  of  men  or  the 
well-being  of  a  republic  are  endangered  — 
operate  to  bring  forth  the  brightest  exam- 
ples of  truth,  of  self-sacrifice,  and  of  val- 
iant heroism. 

Hence  many  modest,  unpretending  hearts,  men 
and  mothers,  who  else  would  have  remained  forever 
retired  and  unknown,  sprang  forth  as  against  the 
invasions  of  barbarism  in  New  England,  and 
have  left  to  us  and  to  the  world  valuable  enduring 
legacies;. 


870  HEROISM   OF   HANNAH   DUSTON. 

Among  these  instances  of  bravery  may  be 
reckoned  the  gallant  feat  of  Thomas  Duston, 
husband  of  Hannah,  in  protecting  the  lives  of 
his  and  her  children  at  the  massacre  in  Haver- 
hill. 

This  hero,  as  is  supposed,  emigrated  from  a  family 
at  Dover,  N.H.,  where  it  is  said  there  were  many  of 
that  name. 

At  Haverhill  he  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of 
considerable  note  and  influence ;  was  a  constable, 
a  maker  of  bricks,  and  also  of  almanacs  on  rainy 
days,  as  they  say ;  and  was  the  keeper  of  a  garrison 
at  his  new  brick  house,  his  headquarters  at  the 
homestead  having  been  consumed. 

His  sagacious  effort  in  saving  his  seven  children 
from  the  cruel  grasp  of  savages  on  that  terrible  day 
when  his  little  Martha  was  slain,  his  house  burnt  to 
ashes,  and  his  wife  carried  away  captive,  was  indeed 
praiseworthy.  It  has  been  poetized  by  Mrs.  S.  J. 
Hale.  Her  poetry  runs  thus  :  — 


THE  FATHER'S  CHOICE. 

Now  fly  as  flies  the  rushing  wind  I 
Urge,  urge  thy  rushing  steed ! 

The  savage  yell  is  fierce  behind  ; 
And  life  is  on  thy  speed. 


THOMAS  DFSTON. 

And  from  those  dear  ones  make  thy  choice ! 

The  group  he  wildly  eyed  ; 
When  "  Father !  "  burst  from  every  side, 

And  "  Child  !  "  his  heart  replied. 

There's  one  will  prattle  on  his  knee, 

Or  slumber  on  his  bic?«t ; 
And  one  whose  joys  of  infancy 

Are  still  by  smiles  expressed. 

They  feel  no  fear  while  he  is  near ; 

He'll  shield  them  from  the  foe : 
But,  oh  !  his  ear  must  thrill  to  hear 

Their  shriekings  should  he  go. 

In  vain  his  quivering  lips  would  speak ; 

No  words  his  thoughts  allow : 
There's  a  burning  tear  upon  his  cheek, 

Death's  marble  on  his  brow. 

And  twice  he  smote  his  clinched  hands ; 

Then  bade  his  children  fly, 
And  turned  ;  and  even  that  savage  band 

Cowered  at  his  wrathful  eye. 

Swift  as  the  lightning  winged  with  death 

Flashed  forth  the  quivering  flame : 
Their  finest  warrior  bows  beneath 
'  The  father's  deadly  aim. 


372  HEROISM  OP   HANNAH  DUSTON. 

Ambition  goads  the  conquerer  on ; 

Hate  points  the  murderer's  brand : 
But  love  and  duty  —  these  alone 

Can  nerve  the  good  man's  hand. 

Not  the  wild  cries  that  rend  the  skies 

His  heart  of  purpose  move : 
He  saves  his  children,  or  he  dies 

The  sacrifice  of  love. 

The  hero  may  resign  the  field, 

The  coward  murderer  flee : 
He  cannot  fear,  he  will  not  yield, 

That  strikes,  sweet  Love !  for  thee. 

They  come !  they  come !  He  heeds  no  cry 
Save  the  soft  child-like  wail : 

"  O  father,  save ! "  —  "  My  children,  fly ! " 
Were  mingled  on  the  gale. 

And  firmer  still  he  drew  his  breath, 

And  sterner  flashed  his  eye, 
As  fast  he  hurled  the  leaden  death, 

Still  shouting,  ««  Children,  fly ! " 

No  shadow  on  his  brow  appeared, 

Nor  tremor  shook  his  frame, 
Save  when  at  intervals  he  heard 

Some  trembler  lisp  his  name. 


THOMAS  DUSTON.  373 

In  vain  the  foe  —  those  fiends  unchained  — 

Like  famished  tigers  chafe : 
The  sheltered  roof  is  neared,  is  gained ; 

All,  all  the  dear  ones  safe ! 

This  Indian  massacre  was  a  terrible  blow  to 
Haverhill.  "  Some  of  its  most  useful  citizens  and 
promising  youth,  as  already  appears,  were  among  the 
slain  ;  and,  well  knowing  that  they  were  daily  and 
hourly  liable  to  similar  attacks,  it  needs  no  stretch 
of  imagination  to  declare  that  fear  seized  the 
hearts  of  the  inhabitants. 

"  The  most  vigorous  measures  were  speedily  taken 
to  prevent,  if  possible,  another  similar  bloody  onset : 
guards  were  stationed  in  many  of  the  houses ;  and 
the  brick  house  of  Thomas  Duston,  that  had  been 
partly  finished  the  preceding  year,  not  being  occu- 
pied, was  ordered  to  be  garrisoned." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  order  to  Thomas 
Duston  when  appointed  to  command  it :  — 

ORDER. 
"  T>  Tlmmafs  Duston,  upon  the  Settlement  of  Garrisons. 

"APRIL  5,  1697.  —  You  being  appointed  master  of 
the  garrison  at  your  house,  you  are  hereby  in  his 
Majesty's  name  required  to  see  that  a  good  watch  is 


374  HEKOISM   OF   HANNAH  DUSTON. 

kept  at  your  garrison,  both  by  night  and  by  day,  by 
those  persons  hereafter  named,  who  are  to  be  under 
your  command  and  inspection  in  building  or  repair- 
ing your  garrison ;  and,  if  any  person  refuse  or 
neglect  their  duty,  you  are  accordingly  required  to 
make  return  of  the  same,  under  your  hand,  to  the 
committee  of  militia  in  Haverhill.  The  persons 
appointed  are  as  followeth :  Josiah  Heath,  sen., 
Josiah  Heath,  jun.,  Joseph  Bradley,  John  Heath, 
Joseph  Kingsbury,  and  Thomas  Kingsbury. 

"  By  order  of  the  committee  of  militia. 

"  SAMUEL  AYEB,  Captain:' 

Mr.  DUSTON  was  a  constable  in  Haverhill ;  and, 
for  the  times,  was  largely  engaged  in  brick-making. 
The  business,  however,  was  attended  with  no  little 
danger,  on  account  of  the  Indians,  who  were  almost 
continually  lurking  in  the  vicinity,  watching  an 
opportunity  for  a  successful  attack.  The  clay-pits 
were  only  a  short  distance  from  the  garrison ;  but 
the  enemy  were  so  bold,  that  a  file  of  soldiers  con- 
stantly guarded  those  who  brought  the  clay  from  the 
pits  to  the  yard  near  the  house,  where  it  was  made 
into  bricks. 

There  is  a  story  of  Joseph  Whittaker,  one  of  this 
guard  ;  and  it  may  be  well  to  tell  it. 


JOSEPH   WHITTAKER.  375 


THE   STORY. 

JOSEPH  was  young.  He  had  become  deeply  in 
love  with  one  Mary  Whittaker,  who  was  then  being 
protected  within  the  garrison.  Joseph  had  struggled 
long  and  manfully  to  escape  the  silken  meshes,  but 
in  vain.  At  last,  summoning  all  his  courage,  he 
improved  a  favorable  opportunity  to  make  a  declara- 
tion of  his  passion  and  purpose.  But  ah  !  —  most 
unfortunate  Joseph  !  —  Mary  did  not  heed  him.  He 
pleaded,  he  entreated,  he  implored,  but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose. Mary  declared  most  emphatically  that  she 
would  not  have  Joe  Whittaker.  Thereupon  his 
blood  was  up.  He  told  her,  that,  unless  she  accepted 
his  offer,  he  would  jump  into  the  well.  But  Mary 
avowed  that  she  wouldn't.  Joe  hastened  from  the 
garrison,  seized  a  log  that  lay  near  by,  and  plunged  it 
into  the  dark,  deep  waters.  Mary  heard  the  plunge, 
and  her  heart  relented.  Remembering  her  love,  and 
with  her  hair  streaming  in  the  night-wind,  she  rushed 
to  the  well,  crying  in  the  agony  of  her  heart,  "  O 
Joseph,  Joseph  !  if  you  are  in  the  land  of  the  living, 
I  ivill  have  you." 

Joseph,  immediately  emerging  from  his  hiding- 
place,  fell  into  her  arms,  exclaiming,  "I  will  take  you 
at  your  word  !  " 

The  two  Whittakers  were  soon  afterwards  made 


376  HEROISM  OP   HANNAH   DUSTON. 

one ;  and,  from  the  records  of  Haverhill,  it  does  not 
appear  that  the  Whittakers  were  in  any  way  dimin- 
ished by  that  operation. 

On  the  21st  of  April,  after  a  little  rest  from  the 
fatigue  of  her  wearisome  captivity,  Mrs.  Duston 
with  her  husband  and  two  captive  companions  were 
in  Boston.  Cotton  Mather  then  and  there  wrote 
from  their  own  account  of  it  the  entire  outlines  of 
this  tragedy ;  while  the  ten  scalps,  the  gun,  and  the 
tomahawk  were  still  there  as  witnesses  also  to  the 
truthfulness  of  the  narrative.  Duston  at  the  same 
time  presented  to  the  General  Assembly,  then  in  ses- 
sion, a  petition  as  follows  :  — 

PETITION. 

"To  the  Right  Honorable  the  Lieut.- Governor,  and 
the  Great  and  General  Assembly  of  the  Province 
of  Massachusetts  Say,  now  convened  in  Boston. 

"  The  humble  Petition  of  Thomas  Duston  of 
Haverhill  sheweth:  That  the  wife  of  ye  petitioner 
(with  one  Mary  Neff)  hath,  in  her  late  captivity 
among  the  Barbarous  Indians,  been  disposed  & 
assisted  by  Heaven  to  do  an  extraordinary  action,  in 
the  just  slaughter  of  so  many  of  the  Barbarians,  as 
would  by  the  law  of  the  Province  which  a  few 
months  ago  would  have  entitled  the  actors  unto  con- 
siderable recompense  from  the  Publick. 


HANNAH   BRADLEY.  877 

"That  tho'  the  [want]  of  that  good  law  [war- 
rants] no  claims  to  any  such  consideration  from  the 

Publick ;  yet  your  petitioner  humbly that  the 

merit  of  the  action  still  remains  the  same ;  &  it 
seems  a  matter  of  universall  desire  thro'  the  whole 
Province  that  it  should  not  pass  unrecompensed. 
And  that  your  petitioner  having  lost  his  estate  in. 
that  calamity  wherein  his  wife  was  carried  into  her 
captivity,  render  him  the  fitter  object  for  what  con- 
sideration the  Publick  Bounty  shall  judge  proper  for 
hath  been  herein  done  ;  of  some  consequence  not 
only  unto  the  persons  more  immediately  delivered, 
but  also  unto  the  generall  interest. 

"  Wherefore,  humbly  requesting  a  favorable  Regard 
on  this  occasion,  your  petitioner  shall  pray,  &c. 

"THOMUS  DU(R)STUN." 

On  the  8th  of  June  the  House  of  Representatives 
"voted  that  the  above-named  Thomas  Durstan,  in 
behalf  of  his  wife,  shall  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of 
the  publick  Treasury  Twenty-five  pounds,  and  Mary 
Neff  the  sum  of  Twelve  pounds  Ten  shillings,  and  the 
young  man  (named  Samuel  Lenerson)  concerned  in 
the  same  action  the  like  sum  of  Twelve  pounds  Ten 
shillings." 

HANNAH  BRADLEY. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  capture  of  Hannah 


378  HEROISM   OF   HANNAH  DUSTON. 

Duston  and  Mary  Neff,  on  the  same  15th  of  March, 
1697,  Hannah  Bradley  was  also  taken  and  carried 
into  captivity.  She,  as  a  captive,  followed  Mrs. 
Duston,  and  in  the  same  trail  constituted  one  of  the 
number  at  the  command  of  the  same  savages,  until 
they  arrived  near  and  opposite  to  the  Contoo- 
cook  ;  when  she  with  one  branch  of  the  tribe  took  a 
different  route,  and  camped  at  another  Indian  home 
not  far  away. 

Hannah  Bradley,  however,  afterwards  escaped,  and 
returned  home  to  Haverhill,  probably  the  same  year. 

In  1703,  six  years  later,  the  same  Mrs.  Bradley 
was  again  captured  by  the  savages,  and  at  this  time, 
as  appears,  remained  nearly  two  years  in  captivity. 
In  the  mean  time,  she  was  sold  by  the  Indians  to  the 
French  in  Canada,  who  were  hostile  to  our  English 
settlers. 

Joseph  Bradley  the  husband,  at  Haverhill,  hearing 
of  his  wife  in  Canada,  started  off  on  that  then  long 
journey,  and  persevered  until  he  found,  purchased, 
obtained,  and  brought  her  back  to  Haverhill. 

Of  this  Myrick  says,  "  On  that  first  general  attack 
in  that  war  of  Queen  Anne's  time,  Aug.  10,  1703, 
five  hundred  French  and  Indians  ravaged  the  settle- 
ments from  Casco  to  Wells,  and  killed  and  captured 
one  hundred  and  thirty  persons." 

He  says,  "  On  the  8th  of  February  then  next  fol- 


MES.  BRADLEY'S  SECOND  CAPTURE.        379 

lowing,  a  party  of  six  Indians  attacked  the  garrison 
of  Joseph  Bradley,  which  was  unhappily  in  an 
unguarded  state :  even  the  sentinels  had  left  theii 
stations,  and  their  gates  open.  As  appears,  Bradley 
lived  on  the  parsonage  road,  near  the  northerly  brook. 

"The  Indians  approached  cautiously,  and  were 
rushing  into  the  open  gates  before  they  were  dis- 
covered. Jonathan  Johnson,  a  sentinel,  who  was 
standing  in  the  house,  shot  at  and  wounded  the  fore- 
most ;  and  Mrs.  Bradley,  who  had  a  kettle  of  boiling 
soap  over  the  fire,  seized  her  ladle,  and,  filling  it 
with  the  steaming  liquid,  discharged  it  on  his  tawny 
pate,  —  a  soop-orific  that  brought  on  a  sleep  from 
which  he  never  awoke. 

"  The  rest  of  the  party  immediately  rushed  for- 
ward, killed  Johnson,  and  took  captive  the  intrepid 
woman  and  some  others. 

"  The  Indians  then,  fearing  lest  they  should  soon 
be  attacked  by  a  stronger  party,  commenced  a  hasty 
retreat,  aiming  for  Canada ;  which  was  then  a  place 
of  resort  often  whenever  they  had  been  so  success- 
ful as  to  take  a  number  of  prisoners.  Mrs.  Bradley 
was  in  delicate  circumstances,  and  in  slender  health : 
still  she  received  no  kindness  from  her  savage  con- 
querers.  No  situation  of  woman  would  ever  protect 
her  from  their  demon-like  cruelties. 

"  The  weather  was  cold  the  wind  blew  keenly  over 


380  HEROISM  OF  HANNAH  DTJSTON. 

the  hills,  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  deep 
snow  ;  yet  they  obliged  her  to  travel  on  foot,  and 
to  carry  a  heavy  burden,  —  too  large,  even,  for  the 
strength  of  man. 

"  In  this  manner  they  proceeded  through  the  wilder- 
ness ;  and  Mrs.  Bradley  informed  her  family  after 
she  returned,  that,  for  many  days  in  succession,  she 
subsisted  on  nothing  but  bits  of  skin,  ground-nuts, 
the  bark  of  trees,  wild  onions,  and  lily-roots. 
While  in  this  situation,  with  none  but  savages  for 
her  assistants  and  protectors,  and  in  the  midst  of  a 
thick  forest,  she  gave  birth  to  a  child.  The  Indians 
then,  as  if  they  were  not  satisfied  with  persecuting 
the  mother,  extended  their  cruelties  to  the  innocent 
and  almost  friendless  babe. 

"  For  the  want  of  proper  attention,  it  was  sickly, 
and  probably  troublesome ;  and,  when  it  cried,  these 
remorseless  fiends  showed  their  pity  by  throwing 
embers  into  its  mouth. 

"  They  told  the  mother,  that,  if  she  would  permit 
them  to  baptize  it  in  their  manner,  they  would  suffer 
it  to  live.  Unwilling  to  deny  their  request,  lest  it 
should  enrage  their  fierce  and  diabolical  passions, 
and  hoping  that  the  little  innocent  would  receive 
kindness  at  their  hands,  she  complied  with  their 
request.  They  took  it  from  her,  and  baptized  it  by 
gashing  its  forehead  with  their  knives. 


MRS.   BRADLEY  SOLD.  381 

"  The  feelings  of  the  mother,  when  the  child  was 
returned  to  her  with  its  smooth  and  white  forehead 
gashed  with  a  knife,  and  its  warm  blood  coursing 
down  its  cheeks,  can  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed. 

"  Soon  as  Mrs.  Bradley  had  regained  sufficient 
strength  to  travel,  the  Indians  again  took  up  their 
march  for  Canada.  But,  before  their  arrival  to  their 
place  of  rendezvous,  she  had  occasion  to  go  a  little 
distance  from  the  party ;  and,  when  she  returned,  she 
beheld  a  sight  shocking  to  a  mother  and  to  every 
feeling  of  humanity.  Her  child,  which  was  born  in 
sorrow  and  nursed  in  the  lap  of  affliction,  and  on 
which  she  doted  with  maternal  fondness,  was  piked 
upon  a  pole.  Its  excruciating  agonies  were  over ;  it 
could  no  more  feel  the  tortures  of  the  merciless 
savages ;  and  its  mother  could  only  weep  over  its 
memory." 

HANNAH   BRADLEY   WITH   THE   FRENCH. 

"  Soon  after,  they  proceeded  to  Canada,  where  Mrs. 
Bradley  was  sold  to  the  French  for  eighty  livres. 

"  She  informed  her  friends  after  her  return,  that  she 
was  treated  kindly  by  the  family  in  which  she  lived. 
It  was  her  custom  morning  and  evening,  when  she 
milked  her  master's  cow,  to  take  with  her  a  crust  of 
bread,  soak  it  with  milk,  and  eat  it :  with  this,  and 


'382  HEROISM  OF  HANNAH  DTJSTON. 

with  the  rations  allowed  her  by  her  master,  she  eked 
out  a  tolerable  existence. 

"  In  March,  1705,  her  husband,  hearing  that  she 
was  in  the  possession  of  the  French,  started  for  Can- 
ada with  the  intention  of  redeeming  her. 

"  He  travelled  on  foot,  accompanied  only  by  a  dog 
that  drew  a  small  sled,  in  which  he  carried  a  bag  of 
snuff  as  a  present  from  the  governor  of  this  prov- 
ince to  the  governor  of  Canada.  When  he  arrived 
he  immediately  redeemed  her,  and  set  sail  from  Mon- 
treal for  Boston,  which  they  reached  in  safety,  and 
from  thence  travelled  to  Haverhill." 

THEY  TRIED   TO  TAKE   HER  A  THIRD  TIME. 

In  1706,  "  during  the  summer  of  that  year,"  Myrick 
says,  "  a  small  party  of  Indians  again  visited  the  gar- 
rison of  Joseph  Bradley ;  and  it  is  said  that  he,  his" 
wife  and  children,  and  a  hired  man,  were  the  only 
persons  in  it  at  the  time.  It  was  in  the  night :  the 
moon  shone  brightly;  and  they  could  be  easily  seen 
silently  and  cautiously  approaching.  Mr.  Bradley 
armed  himself,  also  his  wife  and  man,  each  with 
a  gun,  and  such  of  his  children  as  could  shoulder 
one. 

"  Mrs.  Bradley,  supposing  that  they  had  come  pur- 
posely for  her,  told  her  husband  that  she  would 
rather  be  killed  than  be  again  taken. 


HER   COMPANIONS   IN   CAPTIVITY.  383 

"  The  Indians  rushed  upon  the  garrison,  and  en- 
deavored to  beat  down  the  door.  They  succeeded 
in  pushing  it  partly  open;  and,  when  one  of  the 
Indians  began  to  crowd  himself  through  the  open- 
ing, Mrs.  Bradley,  firing  upon  him,  shot  him 
dead. 

"  The  rest  of  the  party,  seeing  their  companion  fall, 
desisted  from  their  purpose,  and  hastily  retreated." 

The  story  of  Mrs.  Bradley's  captivity  as  a  compan- 
ion of  Hannah  Duston  is  here  told  briefly,  perhaps 
imperfectly,  —  how  she  was  taken  a  second  time, 
carried  to  Canada,  and  sold  as  a  slave  ;  how  during 
that  time  she  had  seen  her  own  dear  infant  slain  by 
the  tribe ;  how  amid  Indian  exultations  she  had 
seen  it  piked  upon  a  pole  ;  and  how,  after  her  deliv- 
erance from  bondage,  a  third  attack  being  made  upon 
her  husband's  garrison,  she  arose  in  her  heroism, 
shot  the  leader,  and  thereby  put  to  flight  the  stealthy, 
cowardly  invaders.  The  experiences  of  her  gallant 
little  son,  who  was  indeed  her  senior  in  captivity, 
will  appear  in  our  next  chapter. 

From  all  this  it  must  be  seen  how  sadly  in  that 
day,  and  with  what  crushing  weight,  the  Indian  bat- 
tle-axe at  noonday  and  at  midnight  fell  upon  the 
women  and  children  of  New  England. 

A  brief,  poem  from  my  "  Merrimack,"  page  35, 
given  on  the  following  page,  may  be  of  interest :  — 


38G  HEROISM   OF   HANNAH   DUSTON. 

very  active,  and  possessed  more  shrewdness  than 
most  boys  of  that  age ;  but  Joseph  was  larger  and 
less  active.  Immediately  after  their  arrival  at  the 
lake,  the  two  boys  were  held  in  an  Indian  family 
consisting  of  the  man,  his  squaw,  and  two  or  three 
children.  While  they  were  there  they  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indian  language ;  and  learned 
from  their  conversations  with  other  Indians  that 
they  intended  to  carry  them  to  Canada  the  following 
spring.  This  discovery  afflicted  them.  If  such 
design  were  carried  into  execution,  they  knew 
there  would  be  but  little  chance  for  their  escape ; 
and  from  that  time  the  active  mind  of  Isaac  was 
continually  planning  a  mode  to  effect  it.  A  deep 
and  unbroken  wilderness,  pathless  mountains,  and 
swollen  and  almost  impassable  rivers,  lay  between 
them  and  their  homes ;  and  the  boys  feared,  if  they 
were  carried  still  farther  northward,  that  they  should 
never  again  hear  the  kind  voice  of  a  father,  or  feel 
the  fervent  kiss  of  their  then  afflicted  mother,  or  the 
fond  embrace  of  a  sister.  They  knew,  that  should 
they  die  in  a  strange  land,  among  savages,  there 
would  be  no  friend  there  to  place  the  green  turf 
upon  their  graves,  and  no  fond  one  near  to  announce 
their  fate  or  to  treasure  up  their  memories. 

Such  were  the  melancholy  musings  of  the  young 
boys:   and  they  determined  to  escape  before  their 


THE  TWO  BOYS.  S87 

master  started  them  for  Canada.  The  winter  came 
with  its  storms  of  snow ;  the  spring  followed  with  its 
early  buds,  its  flowers,  and  its  pleasant  south  wind : 
still  they  were  prisoners.  Within  that  period  Isaac 
was  brought  nigh  to  the  grave:  a  burning  fever 
came  upon  him,  and  for  many  days  he  languished ; 
but  by  the  care  of  a  squ&w,  his  mistress,  usually 
kind,  he  recovered.  And  yet  he  felt  a  strong  desire 
to  escape,  which  increased ;  and  in  April  he  matured 
a  plan  for  that  purpose.  He  appointed  a  night  in  his 
own  mind  when  to  escape ;  and,  on  the  day  previous- 
ly, he  made  known  to  his  companion  his  intentions. 
Joseph  expressed  a  desire  also  to  escape:  to  thisi 
Isaac  said,  "I'm  afraid  you  won't  wake."  Joseph 
promised  that  he  would,  and  at  night  they  laid  down 
in  their  master's  wigwam  with  the  tribe.  Joseph 
soon  fell  asleep,  and  began  to  snore  lustily;  but 
there  was  no  sleep  for  Isaac :  his  strong  desire  to 
escape,  the  fear  of  a  failure  in  the  attempt,  and  of 
the  punishment  that  would  be  inflicted  if  he  did  not 
succeed,  and  the  danger,  hunger,  and  fatigue  that 
awaited  him,  all  moved  his  imagination,  and  kept 
sleep  far  from  his  eyelids.  His  daring  attempt  was 
covered  with  danger,  yet  his  resolution  remained 
umhaken.  At  length  the  midnight  hour  came,  and 
its  holy  stillness  rested  on  the  surrounding  forest. 
At  ;hat  moment  lie  slowly  and  cautiously  arose.  All 


380  HEROISM   OF  HANNAH   DUSTON. 

very  active,  and  possessed  more  shrewdness  than 
most  boys  of  that  age ;  but  Joseph  was  larger  and 
less  active.  Immediately  after  their  arrival  at  the 
lake,  the  two  boys  were  held  in  an  Indian  family 
consisting  of  the  man,  his  squaw,  and  two  or  three 
children.  While  they  were  there  they  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indian  language ;  and  learned 
from  their  conversations  with  other  Indians  that 
they  intended  to  carry  them  to  Canada  the  following 
spring.  This  discovery  afflicted  them.  If  such 
design  were  carried  into  execution,  they  knew 
there  would  be  but  little  chance  for  their  escape ; 
and  from  that  time  the  active  mind  of  Isaac  was 
continually  planning  a  mode  to  effect  it.  A  deep 
and  unbroken  wilderness,  pathless  mountains,  and 
swollen  and  almost  impassable  rivers,  lay  between 
them  and  their  homes ;  and  the  boys  feared,  if  they 
were  carried  still  farther  northward,  that  they  should 
never  again  hear  the  kind  voice  of  a  father,  or  feel 
the  fervent  kiss  of  their  then  afflicted  mother,  or  the 
fond  embrace  of  a  sister.  They  knew,  that  should 
they  die  in  a  strange  land,  among  savages,  there 
would  be  no  friend  there  to  place  the  green  turf 
upon  their  graves,  and  no  fond  one  near  to  announce 
their  fate  or  to  treasure  up  their  memories. 

Such  were  the  melancholy  musings  of  the  young 
boys:   and  they  determined  to  escape  before  their 


THE  TWO  BOYS.  £87 

master  started  them  for  Canada.  The  winter  came 
with  its  storms  of  snow ;  the  spring  followed  with  its 
early  buds,  its  flowers,  and  its  pleasant  south  wind : 
still  the}r  were  prisoners.  Within  that  period  Isaac 
was  brought  nigh  to  the  grave:  a  burning  fever 
came  upon  him,  and  for  many  days  he  languished ; 
but  by  the  care  of  a  squLw,  his  mistress,  usually 
kind,  he  recovered.  And  yet  he  felt  a  strong  desire 
to  escape,  which  increased ;  and  in  April  he  matured 
a  plan  for  that  purpose.  He  appointed  a  night  in  his 
own  mind  when  to  escape ;  and,  on  the  day  previous- 
ly, he  made  known  to  his  companion  his  intentions. 
Joseph  expressed  a  desire  also  to  escape :  to  thiti 
Isaac  said,  "  I'm  afraid  you  won't  wake."  Joseph 
promised  that  he  would,  and  at  night  they  laid  down 
in  their  master's  wigwam  with  the  tribe.  Joseph 
soon  fell  asleep,  and  began  to  snore  lustily;  but 
there  was  no  sleep  for  Isaac :  his  strong  desire  to 
escape,  the  fear  of  a  failure  in  the  attempt,  and  of 
the  punishment  that  would  be  inflicted  if  he  did  not 
succeed,  and  the  danger,  hunger,  and  fatigue  that 
awaited  him,  all  moved  his  imagination,  and  kept 
bleep  far  from  his  eyelids.  His  daring  attempt  w;is 
covered  with  danger,  yet  his  resolution  remained 
unshaken.  At  length  the  midnight  hour  came,  and 
its  holy  stillness  rested  on  the  surrounding  forest, 
At  ;hat  moment  he  slowly  and  cautiously  arose.  All 


388  HEROISM  OF  HANNAH  DUSTON. 

was  silent  there  save  the  deep-drawn  breath  of  the 
savage  sleepers.  The  voice  of  the  wind  was  scarcely 
audible  on  the  hills ;  and  the  moon  at  times  would 
shine  brightly  through  the  scattered  clouds,  and  sil- 
ver the  broad  lake,  as  though  the  robe  of  an  angel 
had  fallen  on  its  sleeping  waters.  Isaac  stepped 
softly  and  tremblingly  over  their  tawny  bodies,  lest 
they  should  awake:  he  secured  his  master's  fire- 
works, and  a  portion  of  his  moose-meat  and  bread  ; 
these  he  carried  to  a  little  distance  from  the  wigwam, 
and  concealed  them  in  a  clump  of  bushes.  He  then 
returned,  and  bending  over  Joseph,  who  had  all  this 
time  been  snoring  in  his  sleep,  carefully  shook  him. 
Joseph,  more  asleep  than  awake,  turned  partly  over 
and  asked  aloud,  "  W hat  do  you  want  ?  "  This  blun- 
der alarmed  Isaac ;  and  he  instantly  laid  down  in  his 
proper  place,  and  again  began  to  snore  as  loudly  as 
any  of  them.  Soon  as  his  alarm  had  somewhat  sub- 
sided, he  again  arose,  and  listened  long  for  the  heavy 
breath  of  the  sleepers.  Perceiving  them  all  asleep, 
he  resolved  to  escape  without  again  attempting  to 
awake  Joseph,  for  fear  of  his  indiscretion.  He  then 
arose,  and,  stepping  softly  out  of  the  wigwam,  walked 
slowly  and  cautiously  from  it  until  he  had  nearly 
reached  the  place  where  his  provisions  were  con- 
cealed, when  he  heard  footsteps  approaching  behind 
him.  With  a  beating  heart  he  looked  backward. 


THE  TWO   BOYS.  3S9 

and  saw  Joseph,  who  had  aroused,  and,  finding  him 
absent,  had  followed  him. 

They  then  secured  the  fire-works  and  provisions, 
and,  without  chart  or  compass,  struck  into  the  woods 
in  a  southerly  direction,  aiming  for  the  distant 
settlement  of  HaverhilL  They  ran  at  the  top  of 
their  speed  until  daylight  appeared,  when  they  con- 
cealed themselves  in  a  hollow  log,  deeming  it  too 
dangerous  to  continue  their  journey  in  the  daytime. 
Their  master  and  tribe,  in  the  morning,  finding  their 
prisoners  had  escaped,  aided  by  their  dogs,  pursued 
them  in  haste. 

The  dogs,  taking  their  track,  in  a  short  time  came 
up  to  the  boys  in  the  log,  made  a  stand,  and  began 
to  bark. 

The  boys  trembled,  fearing  a  re-capture,  and  death 
at  the  edge  of  the  tomahawk.  In  this  situation  they 
knew  not  what  to  do,  but  spoke  kindly  to  them. 
The  dogs,  knowing  their  voices,  ceased  barking,  and 
wagged  their  tails  with  delight.  They  then  gave 
them  their  moose-meat,  which  the  dogs  instantly 
seized  and  devoured.  While  they  were  thus  con- 
cealed, trembling  and  meditating,  the  Indians  made 
their  appearance,  and  passed  near  to  the  log  in  which 
they  were  concealed ;  the  dogs,  being  quiet,  were  un- 
noticed, and  immediately  followed  on  after  the  tribes. 
With  breathless  anxiety  the  boys  followed  them  with 


390  HEBOISM  OP   HANNAH  DUSTON. 

their  eyes  as  they  advanced  from  their  sight ;  and 
hope  again  revived  within  their  bosoms.  They  lay 
in  the  log  during  the  day,  and  at  night  pursued  their 
journey,  taking  a  different  route  from  the  one  trav- 
elled by  the  Indians.  Their  bread  was  soon  gone : 
after  that,  they  subsisted  on  roots  and  buds.  On  the 
second  day  they  again  concealed  themselves,  but 
afterwards  travelled  night  and  day,  without  resting. 
On  that  day,  towards  night,  they  luckily  killed  a 
pigeon  and  a  turtle,  a  part  of  which  they  ate  raw, 
not  daring  to  build  a  fire,  lest  they  should  be  dis- 
covered. On  their  way  they  subsisted  on  fragments 
of  these,  and  on  such  roots  as  they  happened  to 
find ;  continued  their  journey  night  and  day  as  fast 
as  their  wearied  legs  would  carry  them.  On  the 
sixth  day  they  struck  an  Indian  path,  and  followed 
it  till  night,  when  they  suddenly  came  within  sight 
of  an  Indian  encampment ;  saw  their  savage  enemy 
seated  around  the  fire,  and  distinctly  heard  their 
voices.  This  alarmed  them  exceedingly.  They  pre- 
cipitately fled  from  it,  fearing  lest  they  should  be 
<li,'j covered  and  pursued;  then  turning,  all  night 
long  they  retraced  their  steps.  The  morning  came, 
and  found  them  seated  side  by  side  on  the  bank  of  a 
small  stream,  their  feet  torn  and  covered  with  blood, 
and  both  sadly  meditating  upon  their  misfortunes. 
Thus  far  their  hearts  had  been  hopeful;  but  now 


THE   TWO   BOYS.  ol)l 

their  hopes  had  given  way  to  despair.  They  thought 
of  their  homes,  of  the  green  trees  under  which  they 
had  played,  of  the  hearth  around  which  they  had 
often  gathered  with  brothers  and  sisters.  They 
thought  of  these,  and  of  more ;  still  they  were  unwill- 
ing to  yield.  The  philosophy  of  Isaac  taught  him 
that  the  stream  must  eventually  lead  to  a  large  body 
of  water :  and,  after  refreshing  themselves  with  a 
few  roots,  they  again  commenced  their  journey,  and 
followed  down  the  stream.  Thus  they  continued 
onward.  On  the  eighth  morning  Joseph  found  him- 
self completely  exhausted ;  his  limbs  were  weak, 
and  his  mind  was  lost  in  despair.  Isaac  endeavored 
to  encourage  him  to  proceed ;  he  dug  roots  for 
him,  and  brought  water  to  quench  his  thirst,  but  all 
in  vain.  He  laid  himself  down  on  the  bank  of  the 
stream,  in  the  shady  deep  forest,  there  to  die  un- 
sought, unseen.  Isaac  left  him  to  his  fate ;  and,  with 
a  bleeding  heart,  slowly  and  wearily  pursued  his 
journey.  He  had  travelled  but  a  short  distance 
when  he  came  to  a  newly-raised  building.  Rejoiced 
at  his  good  fortune,  and  believing  that  inhabitants 
were  nigh,  he  immediately  retraced  his  steps,  and 
soon  found  Joseph  in  the  same  place,  told  him  what 
he  had  seen,  talked  very  encouragingly,  and,  after 
rubbing  his  limbs  a  while,  induced  him  to  stand 
on  his  feet.  They  then  started  together,  Isaac  now 


392  HEBOISM  OF  HANNAH  DUSTON. 

leading  him  by  the  hand,  now  carrying  him  on  his 
back;  and  thus,  with  limbs  tired  with  travelling, 
with  bodies  reduced  to  skeletons,  they  arrived  at  Saco 
Fort  in  the  course  of  the  next  night. 

Thus,  on  the  ninth  night  —  after  travelling  through 
an  immense  forest,  subsisting  on  a  little  bread,  on 
buds  and  berries,  a  raw  turtle,  and  a  pigeon,  and 
without  seeing  a  fire  or  the  face  of  a  friend  —  Isaac, 
soon  as  he  regained  his  strength,  started  for  Haver- 
hill,  and  arrived  safely  at  his  father's  dwelling-house, 
who  had  heard  nothing  from  him  since  his  capture, 
never  expecting  to  see  him  again.  But  Joseph  had 
more  to  suffer.  As  soon  as  he  reached  the  fort  his 
fever  increased  upon  him ;  and  there,  for  a  long  time, 
he  remained  confined  to  his  bed.  His  father,  ob- 
taining intelligence  by  Isaac,  went  to  Saco,  and,  as 
soon  as  circumstances  would  admit,  conveyed  his 
sick  son  safely  to  his  home  in  Haverhill. 

MBS.   BBADLEY  AGAIN. 

Forty  years  farther  along  in  our  annals,  to  wit, 
in  1738,  we  again  hear  of  the  same  Hannah  Brad- 
ley, who  on  the  same  day  with  Hannah  Duston,  in 
1697,  had  then  for  the  first  time  been  carried  into 
captivity. 


A  GENEROUS  REWARD. 


AT  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

That  year  (1738)  compensation  was  awarded  her 
at  that  session,  on  the  account  of  her  suffering  as  a 
captive,  twice  taken,  and  pursued  a  third  time. 

It  was  the  grant  of  two  farms  in  Methuen,  which 
were  laid  out  to  her  by  Richard  Hazen,  surveyor, 
May  29,  1739 ;  the  one  containing  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  bordering  on  the  westerly  line  of  Haver- 
hill,  and  the  other  ninety  acres,  which  extended 
along  the  easterly  line  of  Dracut. 

MARY    NEFF   AGAIN. 

In  June,  1739,  JOSEPH,  a  son  of  the  same  Mary, 
petitioned  "  the  Great  and  General  Court "  for  a  grant 
of  land  in  consideration  of  his  mother's  captivity, 
and  of  her  services  in  assisting  Hannah  Duston  "  in 
killing  divers  Indians ; "  alleging  that  she  was  "  kept  a 
prisoner  for  a  considerable  time"  and  that  " on  their 
return  home,  they  passed  through  the  utmost  hazard 
of  their  lives,  and  suffered  distressing  want,  being 
almost  starved  before  they  could  return  to  their 
dwellings." 

On  this  petition  Joseph  was  supported  by  the 
same  Mrs.  Bradley. 


894  HEROISM  OP  HANNAH  DUSTON. 

AN  AFFIDAVIT. 

"  The  deposition  of  the  widow  HANNAH  BRADLEY  of 
Haverhill,  of  full  age,  who  testifieth  and  saith  that  about 
forty  years  past  the  said  Hannah,  with  the  widow  Mary 
Neff,  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Indians,  and  carried 
together  into  captivity ;  and  above  Pennacook  the  deponent 
was  by  the  Indians  forced  to  travel  farther  than  the  rest 
of  the  captives. 

"And,  the  next  night  but  one,  there  came  to  us  one 
squaw,  who  said  that  Hannah  Duston  and  the  aforesaid 
MARY  NEFF  assisted  in  killing  the  Indians  of  her  wig- 
wam, except  herself  and  a  boy,  herself  escaping  very  nar- 
rowly, showing  to  myself  and  others  seven  wounds,  as  she 
said  with  a  hatchet,  on  her  head,  which  wounds  were  given 
her  when  the  rest  were  killed." 

"  And  further  saith  not." 

her 

"  HANNAH  X  BRADLEY." 

mark 

Signed  and  sworn  to  at  Haverhill,  "  June  28,  1739." 
"  JOSHUA  BAGLEY,"  J.  P. 


DESCENDANTS. 

The  descendants  of  these  several  captives  whose 
brief  biographies  have  been  given,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Leonardson  (if  he  had  any)  are  quite  numer- 
ous in  New  England. 

HANNAH  DTJSTON  has  many,  among  wbjni  are 


DESCENDANTS   OP   THE   CAPTIVES.  395 

Jonas  B.  Aiken,  Walter  Aiken,  and  F.  H.  Aiken,  of 
Franklin,  N.H.,  all  men  of  wealth,  noble  and  gener- 
ous, and  all  of  much  use  and  profit  in  this  genera- 
tion. 

MARY  NEFF  has  also  many  descendants,  among 
whom  was  the  late  Horatio  G.  F.  Corliss,  a  distin- 
guished lawyer  of  Lowell,  Mass.;  also  Mr.  John  L. 
Corliss  of  the  same  city,  who  now  resides  on  or  near 
the  spot  upon  which  Passaconaway,  when  he  had 
become  old,  in  1660,  addressed  the  Pennacooks  at 
Pawtucket  Falls  on  the  Merrimack.  Another  descen- 
dant of  Mary  is  Charles  Corliss,  Esq.,  of  Haverhill, 
who  now  holds  the  inheritance  where  Mary  was  born, 
and  still  lives  in  the  same  house ;  which,  being  fitted 
up,  constitutes  a  kitchen  to  his  modern  mansion. 

HANNAH  BRADLEY'S  descendants  are  to  be  found 
in  New  England  almost  everywhere.  Prolific  like 
Mrs.  Duston,  she  left  a  numerous  progeny ;  and  from 
her  the  world  has  been  blest  with  the  best  blood  of 
a  noble  race,  contributing  much  of  life  and  stability 
to  the  various  branches  of  New  England  enterprise. 
Among  the  many  of  them  are  Messrs.  Ira  Bradley 
and  Son,  formerly  of  Haverhill,  now  of  Boston,  far 
known  to  the  book  fraternity,  and  for  these  many 
years  strong  in  wealth,  truthful,  faithful,  and  val- 
iant. 

It  may  here  be  observed  that  her  son  ISAAC,  the 


396  HEROISM   OF  HANNAH   DUSTON. 

boy,  was  a  comrade  in  captivity  with  Joseph  Whit- 
taker  in  1695  (as  may  be  seen  on  page  385),  the 
Bame  Joseph  who  afterwards,  in  Duston's  garrison, 
at  Haverhill,  most  adroitly  obtained  the  hand  of  the 
heroic  Mary  Whittaker. 

WONALANCET. 

This  chief  never  proved  unfriendly  to  the  English. 
His  home  was  at  Wamesit,  and  when  on  May  3, 
1676,  Thomas  Kimball,  of  Bradford,  Mass.,  was  killed 
by  the  hostile  tribes,  and  his  wife  and  five  children 
were  seized  and  held  in  captivity,  it  is  recorded, 
that  "though  Mrs.  Kimball  and  her  infant  child  had 
twice  been  condemned  to  death  by  the  Indians,  with 
fires  ready  kindled  to  burn  them,  they  were  generously 
saved  by  the  interposition  of  Wonalancet.  *  To  this 
sachem  it  was  that  Governor  Leverett,  on  October 
1,  1675,  sent  a  communication  in  effect  desiring  his 
influence  and  aid  to  a  treaty  of  peace  in  that  dread 
day  of  conflicts,  by  Lieutenant  Henchman,  and  asso- 
ciated with  him  as  representatives  in  behalf  of  the 
English,  Gookin  and  Eliot  the  apostle.  But  this 
attempt  proved  fruitless.  Wonalancet,  having  retired 
from  Wamesit,  far  back  into  the  wilderness,  was  not 
found;  but  at  the  death  of  Philip,  returned. 

*  Drake's  American  Indians,  Book  III,  p.  97. 


Frontispiece. 


LIFE  AND  LABORS 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE 


AMONG    THE 


INDIAN  NATIONS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND, 


ELIOTS     IN     ENGLAND. 


BY  COL.  ROBERT  BOODEY  CAVERLY, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "  GENEALOGY  OF  THE  CAVERLY  FAMILY,"  "  ANNALS 

OF  THE  BOODEYS,"  POETICAL,  DRAMATICAL, 

AND  OTHER  WORKS. 


VOL.  II. 

BOSTON : 
JAMES     H.    EARLE 

178  WASHINGTON  STREET. 
1882. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1881,  by 

ROBERT  BOODEY  CAVEKLY, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


5To  the 

REVEREND  CLERGY  OF  N~EW  ENGLAND, 

AND  TO  THE 

aitb  ^bbatueb  Sfubnti  in  %  oSabbailj  School  or  <&|jarcjj, 

THESE 

LESSONS  OF  LAW  AND  LIFE,  HISTORIC, 
ARE    INSCRIBED. 

Faithfully,  Thine, 

ROUT.  B.  CAVERLY. 
CENTRALVILLE,  Feb.  22,  1882. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE,'  FIRST  WHITE  MAX  ON  A  NEW  ENG- 
LAND SHOKE  (Chronology:  Drake,  158G;  Pilgrims, 
1620;  John  Eliot,  the  Apostle,  1631)  .  .  .  Frontispiece 

DEATH  OF  KING  PHILIP 70 

PRISONERS  OF  WAR  ON  THE  WAY  TO  DEER  ISLAND  ...    78 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


The  ancestor  (remote),  Sir  William  De  Aliot 7 

Landing  of  the  ancestor  with  William  the  Conqueror 7,  8 

Eliot  descendants,  Lord  Ileathfield,  and  others 8 

Sir  JohnEUotin  Parliament 9 

Sir  John  Eliot  in  Court 10 

Sir  John  Eliot  in  the  Tower— his  death  there 10,11 

Boyhood  of  our  Apostle  —  at  school 11 

The  Apostle  and  his  brothers  Philip  and  Jacob,  Puritans  in  England,       11 

Their  trip  to  the  Tower  to  visit  Uncle  John,  the  martyr 11 

England's  jewels,  crowns,  sceptres,  etc 13 

Description  of  the  Tower— a  bird's-eye  view 12 

Up  the  stairway — tools  of  torture,  etc 13 

Inscriptions,  offences,  and  cruelties 13, 15 

Statuary  and  weapons  of  war 14 

Koyalty  in  the  climax  of  its  conflicts  and  troubles 17 

The  Apostle  and  his  brothers  at  the  dungeon  of  Sir  John 19 

What  the  brothers  saw  and  heard  in  the  Tower 20 

What  the  brothers  saw  and  heard,  leaving  the  Tower 21 

The  brothers  returning  to  the  ship  "  Lyon  " 22 

The  Apostle  and  his  brothers— voyage  to  the  New  World 22,  24 

Lessons  from  the  great  and  good 25 

The  Apostle  in  New  England,  his  force  of  character  —life  and  death..  25,  26 

England's  intolerance — Eliot's  mission  and  position 27, 28 

Indian  nations  in  New  England 28,  29 

Eliot's  apparel — his  prospective  field 30 

Location  of  the  tribes 30,31 

Eliot's  fidelity — his  purpose  —  unwavering 32 


6  TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 

Troubles  in  England — its  conflicts 34 

Oliver  Cromwell  kept  there — a  protector. 35 

Eliot's  republican  book  —  suppressed 35 

The  regicide  judges — three  escape  to  Boston 36 

Eliot  and  King  Charles  II  —  republican  government 37 

Eliot's  order — rulers  —  law — teachers  —  the  civil  power,  etc 38-41 

Eliot's  disciples  —  he  takes  courage 42 

His  first  Indian  sermon  at  Nonantum 43,  44 

Praying  Indians,  number  of—  infidelity—  sunshine  and  cloud 45,46 

Philip's  war  —  anticipated — Eliot  fearful  —  a  similitude 46,  47 

Murder  of  Sassamon — foreshadows  wa r 48,  39 

Trial  of  the  Indian  murderers 40,  00 

Chapter  III  — %  recapitulation 50,51 

Eliot's  letters  to  King  Charles  II 51-55 

His  progress— care  for  schools  — his  rulers  and  ministers 55,  56 

Convention  of  Sagamores  atNatick  —  churches,  covenants,  etc 57,  58 

Eliot's  resistance  to  a  proposed  war  against  the  Missaconogs 59-61 

Indian  stations— Eliot  at  Pawtucket  Falls — Passaconaway .  61,  62 

Up  to  1674 — Eliot's  progress — war 65 

The  dread  alternative 67 

James  the  Printer,  and  Mrs.  Ro wlandson 67,  68 

Job  Nesutan,  and  Old  Jcthro 69 

King  Philip  slain  — the  sham  fight 70 

Eliot  opposes  slavery 72 

Eliot  again  at  Wamesi t  —  his  sermon  —  Wonolancet 63,  64,  75 

Desperadoes  trouble  Eliot— cruel  death  of  squaw  sachem 73 

Extermination  of  races  avowed  on  either  side 75 

Conflagration  and  battle  at  VVamesit 75 

Philip's  forces  as  against  the  settlers— the  flames  how  fed 75-78 

Eliot  escorted  to  Nashua  —his  friends— testimonials 79,  80 

Anna  Mountfort  Eliot-  her  life,  her  force,  faith,  and  death 81-84 

Eliot  in  old  age —his  charity,  manners,  and  his  departure 84-86 

Decline  among  the  Jndian  churches  after  his  decease 88 

Carnal  conflicts  diminished,  but  long  continued 89 

Captivity  of  Jane  McCrea  (poetized) 89-91 

Death  of  Chocorua,  and  his  cur se  (poetized) 91-98 


ELIOTS  IN  ENGLAND. 


I  NTKODUCTOll  Y. 

BEFORE  advancing  to  obtain  Lessons  from  John  Eliot,  the 
Apostle,  we  turn  to  his  ancestry.  There  is  no  test,  in  bringing 
to  light  the  merits  of  a  man,  better  or  more  conclusive  than  to 
exemplify  the  blood  that  moves  him.  True  it  shall  be  found, 
that  the  life-current  which  fed  the  Evangelist  had  flowed  auspi- 
ciously in  England  through  many  a  successive  channel  for  more 
than  seven  hundred  years,  leaping  forth  and  meandering  in  all 
Its  life-inspiring  elements,  and  from  the  pure  original  fountains 
of  good-will,  social  gladness,  and  progressive  manhood. 

SIB  WILLIAM. 

When  William  the  Conqueror,  in  the  year  1066,  with  his  army, 
in  seven  hundred  ships,  then  landing  on  the  shores  of  England, 
at  Pevency,  he  had  on  board  an  Eliot,—  not  an  apostle,  but  the 
remote  ancestor  of  our  New  England  evangelist.  It  was  no 
other  than  Sir  William  De  Allot,  a  military  officer  under  the 
great  Conqueror,  then  valiant,  and  then  in  high  command. 

History  bears  record  that  the  lauding  of  that  vast  army  was 
made  without  resistance ;  that  the  archers  landed  first,  that  they 
wore  short  habits,  and  had  their  hair  cut  close ;  that  the  horse- 
men next  followed,  wearing  steel  head-pieces,  tunics,  and 
cuirasses,  and  with  long,  heavy  spears,  and  straight,  two-edged 
swords ;  and  then,  to  the  shore,  next  came  the  workmen  of  the 
army,  pioneers,  carpenters,  and  smiths,  who  unloaded  on  the 
strand,  piece  by  piece,  prepared  beforehand,  three  wooden 
castles  already  framed. 


8  ELIOTS    IN    ENGLAND. 

The  Conqueror  being  the  last  of  all  to  touch  the  English 
shore,  in  the  setting  of  his  foot  upon  it,  made  a  false  step,  and 
fell  in  the  mud  upon  his  face;  at  which  there  went  up  a  mur- 
muring cry,  "God  preserve  us!  God  preserve  us!  This  is  a 
bad  sign !  "  But  the  duke,  rising  to  his  feet  (with  hands  full 
of  mud),  cried  out,  "See,  seigniors!  I  have  seized  England 
with  both  hands !  Sec,  seigniors !  All  is  our  own !  " 

Then  one  of  the  men,  running  forward,  and  snatching  a  hand- 
ful of  thatch  from  the  caves  of  a  hut,  turned  to  the  duke  and 
exclaimed  to  him,  "  Sire,  come  forward,  and  receive  seizen  of 
this  land  !  I  give  you  seizcn !  This  land  is  yours !  "  The  duke 
answered  aloud,  "I  accept  it!  I  accept  it!  May  God  be  with 
us! " 

Thus  landed  the  first  Eliot,  eight  hundred  years  ago,  on 
England's  shores, — a  valiant  officer,  in  the  midst  of  an  army  of 
conquerors.  According  to  history,  Sir  William,  our  Eliot's 
remote  ancestor,  then  and  there  addressing  the  duke,  and 
swearing  fidelity,  declared  that  "  at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  he 
would  maintain  the  rights  of  his  lord,  the  Conqueror,  to  the 
vast  sovereignty  of  England." 

For  this  avowed  fidelity,  the  Conqueror  at  once  added  to  the 
Eliot  coat-of-arms  a  canton  (on  a  field  of  azure),  au  arm  and 
sword  as  a  crest,  with  the  motto,  "Per  saxa,  per  ignes  ;  fortiter 
et  recte," — "  Over  rocks,  through  fires;  bravely  and  honorably." 

Ever  since  the  Norman  conquest,  England's  places  of  honor 
and  trust  have  constantly  called  them  out.  Especially  since  the 
reign  of  James  the  First  (1G25)  the  Eliot  name  stands  on  the 
record  highly  honored.  Independent  of  royal  appointments, 
generalships,  and  other  high  places,  no  less  than  thirty  Eliots, 
both  from  England  and  Scotland,  represent  the  realm  as  mem- 
bers of  Parliament. 

DESCENDANTS. 

From  that  noble  knighthood  have  descended  Maj.-Gen.  George 
Augustus  Eliot,  honored  as  Lord  Heathfield ;  Sir  Gilbert  Eliot, 
the  Earl  of  Minto;  and  most,  if  not  all,  the  many  thousands  of 
distinguished  Eliots  who  have  since  lived  in  England,  including 


ELIOTS    IN    ENGLAND.  9 

those  who,  within  the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  have 
landed  and  lived  on  these  our  New  England  Chores. 

And  proud  may  the  race  bj,  that  the  same  heroic  blood  that 
moved  one  of  the  old  conquerors,  is  fruitful  of  inspiration  in 
the  veins  of  the  generous  Eliots  in  this  our  day.  For  more  than 
fourscore  years,  it  came, — Coursed  and  moved  the  Apostle,  in- 
spiring life  and  light  and  love  divine,  on  his  mission  to  the 
heathen  tribes  of  the  wilderness. 

Aside  from  the  Eliot  ancestry  in  England,  now  unremembered, 
unknown,  in  spite  of  oblivion,  which  in  stealth  creeps  in,  over- 
whelming the  generations  of  earth,  the  Eliot  name  everywhere 
still  adorns  the  English  annals. 

SIR  JOHN  ELIOT. 

This  noble  knight,  born  in  1590,  was  a  member  of  Parliament 
from  Newport,  and  afterwards  representing  Cornwall,  —  was  a 
leader  in  the  House  in  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  James  II 
and  the  first  part  of  Charles  I.  Repeatedly  he  had  made  himself 
prominent  in  opposition  to  the  king's  assumed  prerogative;  and 
finally,  among  other  things,  he  strenuously  led  off  in  opposition 
to  the  levying  of  tonuage  and  poundage  by  the  king  himself, 
without  consent  of  the  House  of  Commons.* 

Being  an  active  man,  and  a  decided  enemy  to  favorites  and 
their  encroachments,  Sir  John  was  appointed  by  the  House  a 
manager  in  the  impeachment  trial  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham. 
By  reason  of  his  action  in  this,  he,  with  his  associate  Digges 
and  others,  was  committed  to  the  Tower  by  the  king,  but  was 
soon  afterwards  released. 

In  1028  he  was  again  imprisoned,  with  others,  for  his  alleged 
parliamentary  misconduct,  and  for  his  refusing  to  answer  for  it 
before  the  Privy  Council ;  and  yet  he  was  again  released. 

Again  the  king  having  persisted  in  the  aggressions  above 
named,  and  Sir  John,  in  concert  with  other  members,  having 

*  Among  the  many  great  men  associated  with  Sir  John  Eliot,  were  Sir 
Edward  Coke,  Sir  Edwin  Sandis,  Sir  Robert  Philips,  Sir  Francis  Seymour, 
Sir  Dudley  Digges,  and  Sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  the  uoble  Earl  of  Strafford. 
—  Hume's"  Hist.,  Vol  V,  pp.  £5,  34,  5!),  CO. 


10  ELIOTS   IN    EXGLAN1>. 

at  length  framed  a  remonstrance  against  the  levying  of  tonnage 
and  poundage  by  the  king  without  consent  of  the  House,  pre- 
sented it  to  the  clerk  to  be  read ;  but  the  clerk  refused.  There- 
upon Sir  John  arose,  and  read  it  to  the  House  himself. 

The  question  being  called  for,  the  speaker  objecting,  said  1  e 
had  a  command  from  the  king  not' to  put  any  question,  but  to 
adjourn  the  House ;  and,  rising  up,  leaving  the  chair,  an  uproar 
eusued. 

The  speaker  was  pushed  back  into  his  chair,  and  was  forcibly 
held  into  it  by  Ilollis  and  Valentine,  until  a  short  remonstrance 
in  writing  was  framed  by  Sir  John,  which,  without  vote,  was 
passed  by  acclamation.  In  this,  Papists  and  Armiuians  were 
declared  by  the  House  capital  enemies  to  the  commonwealth,  as 
well  as  those  who  had  been  concerned  in  levying  tonnage  and 
poundage.  The  doors  at  this  time  being  locked,  the  usher  of 
the  House  of  Lords,  sent  by  the  king,  could  not  obtain  admit- 
tance, uutil  that  remonstrance  on  the  motion  of  Sir  John  Eliot 
had  been  carried  through.* 

POSITION  OF  THE  KING. 

These  proceedings  of  the  House  were  denounced  by  the 
throne  as  seditious,  and  on  this  account  several  members  of 
the  House  were  imprisoned,  but  were  afterwards,  with  much 
difficulty,  released. 

SIR  JOHN  IN  COURT. 

This  member,  with  Hollis,  Valentine,  and  others,  was  (May  29, 
1628)  summoned  to  his  trial  before  the  King's  Bench  for  "sedi- 
tious speeches  and  behaviour."  Sir  John  was  charged  of  having 
declared,  in  the  House,  that  "the  council  and  judges  conspired 
to  trample  under  their  feet  the  liberties  of  the  subject  and  the 
privileges  of  Parliament":  and  being  arraigned  before  a  tribunal 
inferior  to  his  own,  as  asserted,  he  refused  to  answer.  There- 
upon the  King's  Bench  condemned  him  to  be  imprisoned  in  the 
Tower  at  the  king's  pleasure,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  £2,000.  His 
parliamentary  associates  received  less,  but  similar,  sentences. 

*  Hume,  Vol.  V,  p.  59. 


ELIOTS    IN    ENGLAND.  11 

The  king,  in  the  midst  of  embarrassment,  offered  them  a  re- 
lease on  the  terms  of  concession,  to  which  they  would  not  yield, 
nor  would  they  accept  of  bail  generously  offered ;  but  for  the 
cause  of  liberty  they  cared  not  for  the  bonds  that  held  them. 
Under  this  imprisonment  Sir  John  Eliot  died  in  the  Tower  Nov. 
27,  1632.  This  was  announced  throughout  the  realm  sis  the 
death  of  a  martyr,  and  it  was  not  very  long  afterwards  (1048) 
when  his  royal  oppressor  also  died,  beheaded.* 

THE  APOSTLE  IN  ENGLAND. 

The  first  now  known  of  our  John,  the  Apostle,  is,  when  he  was 
at  school  with  Rev.  Thomas  Hooper,  at  Little  Baddow,  in 
Essex,f  as  an  usher,  or  assistant  teacher;  and  tradition  has  it, 
that  he  was  also  schooled  for  some  time  in  the  University  at 
Cambridge,  but  of  this  last  statement  there  is  some  doubt  J 

The  Apostle,  as  well  as  his  brothers  Philip  and  Jacob,  was 
once  supposed  to  have  originated  at  Nasing,  in  Essex;  but  a 
special  historian  has  journeyed  to  that  town,  and  upon  diligent 
search,  finds  no  evidence  of  it.  Nor  does  it  in  any  way  appear 
that  the  Apostle  ever  saw  that  town. 

In  1631,  the  year  previous  to  Sir  John  Eliot's  death  in  the 
Tower,  the  Apostle  and  his  two  brothers,  disgusted  at  the  then 
oppressive  papacy,  and  at  the  royal  misrule  as  affecting  them- 
selves and  kindred  ties,  had  made  up  their  minds  to  desert  Eng- 
land^ 

ABOUT  TO  EMBARK. 

Being  about  to  leave  the  realm,  these  Eliot  brothers  must 
needs  advance  to  take  final  leave  of  favored  friends.  So  doing, 

*  Hume's  History  of  England,  Vol.  V,  pp.  59,  CO,  371. 

t  Hooker  was  suspended  from  the  ministry  by  reason  of  his  hostility  to 
papacy  and  royalty  as  then  administered;  and  years  afterwards,  in  1040, 
left  England  in  the  ship  "Griffin,"  with  two  hundred  others  (among  whom 
Oliver  Cromwell  started,  but  turned  back),  and  finally  settled  in  Connecticut, 
and  was  honored  as  the  "  Moses  "  of  that  State. 

J  Eliot  Gen.,  p.  35. 

§  Life  of  Eliot,  by  Erancis,  pp.  6,  7,  and  note.  Hist,  of  Puritans,  Vol.  II, 
p.  245. 


12  ELIOTS    IN    ENGLAND. 

we  seem  to  see  them  on  the  way,  hurriedly  advancing  in  and 
along  the  narrow  highways  of  London  to  its  Tower,  on  a  visit 
to  their  dear  old  uncle,  Sir  John  Eliot,  the  Martyr.  They  pass 
incognito.  Their  sympathies  concentre  at  the  Tower.  They 
know  and  feel  the  injustice  of  the  imprisonment,  and  the  cru- 
elty of  that  royal  power  which  holds  him  within  its  walls. 
Foremost,  as  they  advance,  the  great  white  fortification  heaves 
in  sight,  and  then  next  its  outstanding  twelve  towers,  and  then 
a  .spacious  moat  or  canal  that  surrounds  it.  Here,  then, 
a  fortress,  terrible  in  its  history,  and  awful  in  its  frowning 
strength  and  power,  now  stands  before  them.  They  gaze 
glancing  upon  its  embattled  watch-towers,  and  upon  its  heavy, 
time-stained,  stately  walls. 

UP  THE  STAIRWAY. 

Permitted  by  "  the  warder,  or  yeoman  of  the  guard,"  they 
pass  the  gateway  into  the  outer  ward,  and  farther  onward 
enter  within  and  along  up  the  heavy  stairway  from  the  inner 
ward,  and  still  higher  along  between  the  various  dismal 
dungeons  and  solitary  apartments  of  the  great  white  Tower. 

TOOLS  OP  TORTURE. 

On  their  winding  way  upward,  step  after  step,  on  either  side 
are  seen,  in  various  forms,  the  many  implements  of  cruelty  and 
death  of  long-gone  years.  Here  is  seen  the  collar  of  torment ; 
there  the  thumb-screw;  there  the  rack  and  the  stock  that 
destroyed  the  limbs  of  men,  and  the  block  that  held  the  heads 
of  queens.  There,  too,  among  thousand <  of  other  dread,  im- 
plements, is  the  broad,  bloody  axe  which,  one  after  another, 
all  the  way  through  England's  reign  of  terror,  had  left  kings 
headless  and  many  a  noble  heart  lifeless.  As  they  move  up- 
ward, gaziug,  wondering,  the  splendor  of  royalty  and  the 
beauty  of  queens  fall  oft  upon  their  vision.  The  dazzling 
insignia  of  royalty  and  the  glittering  power  of  princes  are 
exemplified.  Found  high  up  in  one  of  the  towers,  in  all  their 
value  and  beauty,  they  behold 


ELIOTS  IN  ENGLAND.  13 

ENGLAND'S  JEWELS. 

These  diadems  are  grouped.  The  crown  of  the  sovereign  con- 
sists of  a  cap  of  purple  velvet,  enclosed  in  hoops  of  silver,  sur- 
mounted by  a  ball  and  cross,  all  brilliant  in  diamonds.  In  the 
centre  of  the  cross  is  the  inestimable  sapphire ;  and  in  front  is 
the  heart-shaped  ruby  once  worn  by  the  Black  Prince. 

St.  Edward.  —  One  of  the  group  is  the  crown  of  this  prince, 
made  of  gold,  richly  embellished  with  emeralds,  pearls,  and 
other  precious  gems. 

Prince  of  Wales.  —  The  crown  of  this  prince  is  of  pure  gold, 
unadorned.  It  is  a  crown  which  usually  is  placed  before  the 
seat  of  the  heir-apparent  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

Ancient  Queen's  Crown.— This  is  used  at  coronations,  for  the 
queen's  consort. 

Queen's  Diadem.  —  This  is  adorned  with  large  diamonds  and 
pearls. 

St.  Edward's  Sta/.  —  Made  of  beaten  gold;  it  is  four  feet 
seven  inches  in  length,  and  is  surmounted  with  an  orb.  It  is 
carried  before  the  king  at  the  coronation. 

The  Royal  Sceptre. — This,  with  the  cross,  is  usually  carried 
before  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  at  the  coronation.  It  is 
of  gold,  adorned  with  jewels. 

Hod  of  Equity. — This  sceptre  is  placed  in  the  hand  of  the 
sovereign  at  the  coronation.  Made  of  gold,  it  has  an  orb,  and 
a  dove  with  expanded  wings. 

Ivory  Sceptre.  —  This  was  the  sceptre  of  "Queen  Marie  De 
Estie." 

The  Golden  Sceptre.  —  This  seems  to  have  originated  from 
Queen  Mary,  of  William  the  Third,  and  is  the  last  of  the  group. 

These,  to  the  brothers,  were  indeed  "glittering  generalities." 

INSCRIPTIONS,  OFFENCES,  AND  CRUELTIES. 

Next  they  enter  various  other  departments,  encased  with  huge 
walls,  upon  which  now  and  then  are  deeply  engraved  the  many 
sentimental  sayings,  inscribed  in  plain  letters,  — some  in  English, 


14  ELIOTS    IN   ENGLAND. 

some  in  Latin,  and  others  in  other  languages, — by  the  many 
heroic  victims,  men  and  women,  who  in  by-gone  ages  had 
perished  in  the  Tower. 

On  one  side,  over  the  fireplace,  is  found  the  name  "Philip 
Howard."  Philip  was  the  son  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who  in 
1572  had  been  beheaded  for  the  grave  offence  of  having  aspired 
to  the  hand  of  the  dear  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots.  This  was 
the  duke's  offence.  Philip's  own  crime  proves  to  have  been 
an  ardent  devotedness  to  the  church  of  his  choice,  at  which 
Queen  Elizabeth  had  taken  offence.  Philip,  seeing  his  danger, 
tried  to  escape  into  exile;  but,  detected,  was  seized  and  sent  to 
the  Tower,  where,  upon  its  walls,  over  his  name  (immortalized), 
he  engraved  the  following  words  :  — 

"  Quanta  plus  affectiones  pro  Christo  in  hoc  secula  plus  glorias 
cum  Christo  in  futuro.  Philip  Howard. 

"Arundell,  June  22,  1587." 

The  interpretation  of  this  declares  that,  "The  more  suffering 
with  Christ  in  this  world,  the  more  glory  shall  be  obtained 
with  Christ  in  the  world  to  come." 

PHILIP'S  SENTENCE. 

This  same  earl,  being  found  guilty  of  high  treason,  was 
condemned  to  death,  but  having  been  convicted  on  religious 
grounds,  was  not  beheaded,  but,  doomed,  was  held  a  prisoner  for 
life.  Worn  with  sorrow,  he  expired  in  the  Tower,  "  1595,  aired 
39."  In  person  he  was  tall,  of  a  swarthy  complexion,  but  "  had 
an  agreeable  mixture  of  sweetness  and  grandeur  of  countenance, 
with  a  soul  superior  to  all  human  considerations." 

Next  they  come  to  the  inscriptions  made  by  Arthur  Poole,  on 
the  north  side  of  his  cell,  to  wit:  "Deo  servire  penitentiam  inire 
fato  obedire  Eegnare  est.  A.  Poole,  1564  I.  H.  S." 

It  seems  that  Arthur  was  in  the  belief  that  "  to  live  penitently, 
yield  to  fate,  and  serve  God,  is  to  reign." 

And  again,  the  same  prisoner  leaves  on  the  walls  other  words, 
"I.  II.  S.  A  passage  perilous  maketh  a  port  pleasant."  "A. 
15G8."  "  Arthur  Poole."  "A.  C.  sue  37  A.  P." 

In  another  place  in  the  walls  are  found,  from  his  brother,  the 


ELIOTS   IN   ENGLAND.  15 

following:  "7.  H.  S.  Dio  semin  .  .  .  in  lachrimis  exultatione 
mater.  A.  E.  21  E.  Poole  1562"  "  That  which  is  sown  of 
God  in  tears  is  to  be  reaped  in  joy." 

Under  one  of  the  autographs  of  Edmund  Poole  is  the  word 
"  lane."  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  royal  title  of  Ludy  Jane 
Gray;  and  as  appears,  Lady  Jane  herself,  while  imprisoned  in 
the  Tower,  left  an  inscription  scratched  upon  the  wall  with  a 
pin,  as  follows  :  — 

"  To  mortals'  common  fate  thy  mind  resign, 
My  lot  to-day,  to-morrow  may  be  thine." 

IMPRISONMENT  AND  DEATH. 

It  was  in  1640,  when  Sir  Thomas  Cromwell,  for  his  Reforma- 
tion sentiments,  was  cast  into  the  Tower,  and  afterwards  was 
beheaded  on  Tower  Hill.  About  this  time,  in  the  midst  of 
heresy  and  delusion,  the  dungeons  were  filled  with-  learned 
divines. 

In  1546,  Anne  Askew,  a  lady  of  merit,  for  denying  in  conver- 
sation the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  was  tortured  in  the 
Tower,  and  then  burnt  at  the  stake  in  Smithfleld. 

The  offence  of  Margaret,  the  Countess  of  Salisbury,  mother  of 
Cardinal  Pole,  was  that  she  was  of  royal  blood1.  When  brought 
to  the  scaffold  on  the  green,  she  refused  to  lay  her  head  upon 
the  block,  saying,  "So  do  traitors  use  to  do,  and  I  am  no 
traitor."  An  'awful  scene  followed.  At  length  the  headsman 
dragged  the  countess  by  her  long,  frosty  locks  to  the  block. 
Thus  perished  the  last  full  blood  of  the  Plantagenets. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  once  an  inhabitant  of  the  New  World, 
was  afterwards  seized  in  England,  charged  of  being  concerned 
in  the  plot  of  placing  on  the  throne  Lady  Arabella  Stuart.  For 
this  he  was  held  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower  twelve  years.  Re- 
leased, he  went  to  Guiana  in  search  of  gold ;  but  failing  in  that 
enterprise,  on  his  return,  for  the  original  offence,  he  was  again 
remanded  to  the  Tower,  and  without  reason  was  beheaded  in 
1618.*  While  in  the  Tower  that  noble  Raleigh  wrote  a  history 
of  the  world. 


*Hume,  Vol.  IV,  p.452. 


16  ELIOTS    IN   ENGLAND. 

Thomas  "Wentworth,  *  Earl  of  Strafford,  one  of  England's 
most  eminent  sons,  was  incarcerated  in  the  Ttfwer  for  trying  to 
withstand  the  popular  current,  which  was  concentrating  to  a 
revolution,  and  in  1641  was  beheaded,  to  the  intense  grief  of 
his  sovereign. 

STATUARY  AND  WEAPONS. 

Present  to  the  brothers,  as  they  advance,  are  also  other  unnum- 
bered victims  of  despotic  vengeance  in  the  by-gone  centuries. 
They  behold,  in  deep  thought,  the  emblematic  banners  which 
floated  over  heroes  like  Edward  I,  Edward  III,  the  Black 
Prince,  and  many  others,  such  as  had  been  fanned  by  "  the 
whirlwinds  of  war  and  by  the  crimson  wing  of  conquest." 
Here,  too,  on  the  right  and  left  as  they  pass,  are  the  cross- 
bows, with  their  stocks  curiously  carved,  used  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries.  Here,  also,  is  the  carved  steed, 
bearing  away  upon  himself,  in  his  pride,  Elizabeth,  Queen  of 
England.  Here,  too,  fronting  the  queen,  is  the  equestrian 
statue  of  a  noble  knight  wielding  in  his  hand  a  tilting  lance, 
clad  in  the  closest  armor.  Also,  farther  upward,  is  the  figure 
of  an  archer  in  a,  brigandine  jacket;  and  there,  too,  is  a  cross- 
bow used  in  the  days  of  our  remote  Eliot  and  William  the 
Conqueror,  with  groups  of  spears  on  all  sides  of  it.  Next  to 
be  noticed  are  rugged  shields,  with  scenes  from  the  story  of 
Hercules;  helmets  and  breast-plates,  ancient  firearms,  match- 
locks, etc.,  innumerable.  Still  farther  upward  are  groups  of 
arms  and  armor,  iron  skull-caps,  and  various  figures  of  stat- 
uary; effigies  of  noble  knights  on  horseback,  very  common, 
among  which  appears  Charles  the  First  on  horseback  in  the 
same  gilt  armor  which  he  had  received  as  a  gallant  gift  from 
the  city  of  London.  All  these,  and  immensely  more,  excite  the 
senses  of  our  Eliot  brothers  on  that  day  in  the  heart  of  their 
native  Eugland,  and  in  the  proudest  city  of  the  world. 

Now,  half  halting,  our  young  Apostle,  breaking  silence,  thus 
addresses  Philip  and  Jacob  :  — 


Sketches  of  the  Tower,  p.  38. 


ELIOTS    IN   ENGLAND.  17 

ROYAL  OUTRAGES. 

These,  as  you  see,  are  but  the  emblems  that  have  come  down 
from  a  wild,  unjust,  untutored  ambition,  whence  dread  heresies, 
and  the  thirst  for  power,  have,  through  carnal  weapons,  been 
allowed  to  gain  the  ascendancy  over  a  Christian  civilization  as 
found  in  the  laws  of  God,  and  which  forever  must  needs  be 
enforced,  pursuant  to  "the  great  God's  Golden  Rule."  Thus  in 
this  our  English  fathers  have  failed.  England,  beautiful  Eng- 
land, whose  mountains  have  been  made  vocal  with  the  high-born 
Iloel's  harp  and  soft  Llewellyn's  lay,  hath  suffered  all  this. 
Indeed,  a  better  era  shall  follow  her.  Then  shall  her  kings  and 
queens  reign  in  righteousness;  and  "then  shall  her  princes 
decree  justice." 

Next,  now,  as  the  brothers  pass,  are  pointed  out  to  them  the 
various  dungeons  which  long  previously  had  been  filled  with  the 
mighty  men  of  Scotland.  For  here  it  was  that  King  Baliol  was 
imprisoned  in  1297;  where,  also,  the  noble  Wallace  suffered 
imprisonment  and  death  in  1305;  where  the  gallant  earls  of 
Eoss,  of  Athol,  and  of  Monteith,  in  1346,  King  David  Bruce's 
time,  all  perished;*  and  where,  also,  the  six  hundred  Jews  must 
have  been  quartered,  who  inhabited  the  Tower,  prisoners  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  the  Third,  and  during  the  military  career  of 
"  Sir  Hugh  Calverly,  the  chevalier  verte,"  who  first  used  guns 
iu  England's  wars.f 

In  1406,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  IV,  the  boy  .Prince  James,  son 
of  Robert  III,  King  of  Scotland,  when  on  a  sea-voyage  to 
France  to  obtain  an  education,  driven  by  storm  and  tempest, 
was  cast  upon  the  shores  of  England.  Now,  for  reason  that 
Scotland  was  then  at  war  with  King  Henry,  this  infant  prince 
was  seized,  as  if  by  a  wrecker,  and  was  consigned  to  the  Tower 
of  London,  and  was  there  held  imprisoned  eighteen  years.  He 
educated  himself  there,  and  in  after  life,  crowned,  he  at  length 
became  renowned  "  for  consummate  wisdom  and  virtue." 


*  See  Harmon's  Sketch,  pp.  32,  33. 

t  These  Jews,  for  this,  their  offence  of  having  adulterated  the  coin  of  tiie 
realm,  with  their  entire  nation,  were  finally  released  from  the  Tower,  by 
being  banished  from  England.  See  Hume,  Vol.  II,  pp.  124, 131,  2S&-282, 337. 


18  ELIOTS  nr  EXGLA>T>. 

It  was  in  the  Tower  that  the  Black  Prince,  then  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  pride  and  delight  of  England,  fell  a  prey  to  "  the 
wolf-like  passions  of  rival  factions."  At  this  period  were  seen 
the  tyrants'  darkest  deeds.  Then  it  was  that  royal  cousins,  in 
wrath,  struggled  for  the  crown,  now  and  then  dooming  the 
unhappy  aspirant  to  a  dismal  dpngeon,  or  to  a  dread  assassina- 
tion. Rampant  for  power,  they  increased  the  traffic  in  tools  of 
torture,  in  the  building  of  scaffolds,  and  in  deeds  of  blood. 

Here  (seen  by  the  brothers)  is  the  image  of  Qneen  Anne, 
consort  of  Richard  II,  on  her  knees  pleading  in  tears  at  the 
feet  of  her  lord,  for  her  dear  king's  own  friend,  Sir  Simon 
Burley,  all  in  vain ;  and  Sir  Simon,  "  that  noble  Knight"  (1388), 
was  made  the  first  victim  beheaded  upon  the  new  scaffold  at 
Tower  Hill.  Discontent  follows  Richard  II,  and  soon  he 
resigns  his  kingdom  to  his  relative  Bolingbroke,  in  language  as 
follows :  "  Fair  cousin  Henry,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  I  give  and 
deliver  to  you  this  crown,  and  therewith  all  the  rights  thereto 
depending."  Richard  himself  was  then  committed  to  the  Tower, 
and  thence  to  Pomfret  Castle  in  Yorkshire ;  and  to  this  day  a 
sable  veil  conceals  his  death. 

Nor  was  the  reign  of  Bolingbroke  peaceful.  Ah !  how  truthful 
the  poet  sings, — 

"  Gives  not  the  hawthorn  bosh  a  sweeter  shade 
To  shepherds,  looking  on  their  silly  sheep, 
Than  doth  a  rich  embroidered  canopy 
To  kings,  that  fear  their  subjects'  treachery?" 

It  was  here,  in  1485,  when  in  front  of  St.  Peter's  Chapel,  Lord 
Hastings  was  doomed  to  instant  death  at  the  mandate  of  Richard 
III.  And  from  here,  from  within  the  Tower's  dismal  recesses, 
the  renowned  Sir  John  Oldcastle,  Lord  Cobham,  after  a  long 
imprisonment  for  religious  opinions  (1417).  was  carted  away,  and 
at  the  fields  of  St.  Giles  was  burnt  at  the  stake.  And  here  during 
the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  when  Rome  was  at  its  height  in 
persecutions,  and  the  populace  were  frantic  in  charges  of  heresy, 
the  broad  gates  of  the  Tower  of  London  were  wide  open  swung 
in  the  reception  of  innocent  hearts. 

Under  statutes  that  empowered  the  "  Bishop  to  imprizon  any 


ELIOTS    IN   ENGLAND.  19 

one  suspected  "  of  heresy,  the  dungeons  of  the  Tower  were  soon 
filled  with  pious  convicts.  The  illustrious  Lord  Chancellor, 
Thomas  More,  and  Fisher,  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
covered  as  he  was  with  the  frosts  of  eighty  winters,  were  held 
here  as  heretics,  thus  to  pine  away  their  otherwise  useful  lives 
in  solitude  and  sadness,  until  death  at  length  relieved  them. 
They  were  held  under  the  wrath  of  King  Henry,  the  professed 
head  of  the  church  *  This  old  bishop,  while  there,  in  a  letter 
to  one  of  the  lords,  complains :  "I  have  neither  shirt  nor  sute 
to  wear,  but  that  be  ragged,  and  rent  so  shamefully — and  my 
dyett  also,  God  knoweth  how  slender  it  is  at  meny  times." 

In  1533,  Anne  Boleyn  was  the  pious  queen  of  Henry  VIII. 
She  was  escorted  to  him  by  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  arrayed 
in  scarlet  and  clad  in  golden  chains,  "  amidst  the  great  melody 
of  trumpets  and  divers  instruments,  and  a  mighty  peal  of  guns." 
In  1536  her  home  was  in  the  Tower.  The  traitor  gates  opened 
wide  to  receive  Queen  Anne ;  she  came  attended  by  her  jail- 
ers; her  fair  fame  had  departed,  and  the  gloom  of  death 
overshadowed  her.  Charged  of  unfaithfulness  to  her  king,  and 
arraigned  before  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  she  was  condemned  to 
death,  at  which  she  exclaimed,  "O  Father!  O  Creator!  Thou 
who  art  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  Thou  knowest  I  have 
not  deserved  this  death."  On  the  19th  of  May,  1536,  a  mourn- 
ful procession  passed  over  the  green.  Anne  Boleyn,  dressed  in 
black,  surrounded  by  a  retinue  of  sympathetic  maidens,  was  on 
the  way  from  the  Tower  to  the  scaffold,  there  in  person  tran- 
scendently  beautiful,  "mournfully  brilliant."  Here  ended  the 
earthly  career  of  a  generous  queen. 

In  1553,  dread  royalty  again  is  seen  in  the  Tower,  during  the 
ten  days'  reign  of  Lady  Jane  Grey,  who,  as  it  often  is  told,  fell 
a  victim  to  the  unholy  ambition  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland. 
Her  husband,  Lord  Guilford  Dudley,  was  executed  about  the 
same  time,  on  Tower  Hill.  Lady  Jane,  as  declared  by  Fuller, 
"had  the  inna^ense  of  childhood,  the  beauty  of  youth,  the  learn- 

*  Parliament  conferred  on  the  king,  power  as  a  supreme  head  of  the 
church  of  England.— Hume's  Hist,  of  Eng.,  VoL  III,  pp.  189-197,  430, 491. 


20  ELIOTS   IN   ENGLAND. 

ing  of  a  clerk,  the  solidity  of  middle  life,  the  gravity  of  old  age, 
and  the  soul  of  a  saint."  She,  like  many  others,  died  a  victim 
to  a  low  ambition  under  a  thirst  for  power,  and  against  all  law, 
true  religion,  and  common  decency. 

AT  THE  CELL  OF  SIR  JOHN. 

Here  the  brothers,  conducted,  have  at  length  arrived.  With 
eager  eyes  they  glance  at  their  kind  uncle,  the  martyr,  in  silent 
solitude.  The  old  man,  startled  at  their  footsteps,  rising  up, 
turns  himself  hither  and  thither  like  a  caged  lion,  as  if  from  a 
deep  slumber,  or  from  an  absorbing  reverie.  A  long  imprisoned 
beard  rests  loosely  upon  his  breast;  the  frosts  of  dreary  winter 
hang,  spread  wide,  upon  his  shoulders ;  yet  there  is  the  blood  of 
an  Eliot  in  the  long,  pale,  furrowed  cheek,  and  a  flash  of  fire, 
glimmering,  still  twinkles  in  the  old  man's  eye. 

The  brothers  draw  near;  and  oh!  with  what  gladness,  what 
love  and  thankfulness,  does  the  oppressed  martyr  meet  and  greet 
them,  separated  only  by  intervening  bolts  and  bars.  The  old 
knight,  after  an  interchange  of  greetings,  pauses,  listening  to  a 
brief  detail  of  their  designs  for  the  future,  as  they  were  now 
about  to  leave  their  native  land,  to  sojourn  for  life  in  a  wilder- 
ness afar  off,  beyond  the  high  seas,  breaking  silence,  advises 
them  thus:  "For  the  just  liberties  of  the  realm  I  remain  here. 
This  Tower  is  my  home.  But,  for  you,  full  of  life,  England  in 
its  distractions,  having  become  offensive,  it  is  but  wise  that  the 
Puritan  should  leave  it.  Full  of  vigor,  you  may  as  well  go  to 
the  New  World.  Accept  of  no  office  there.  Trust  to  your  own 
strength  in  the  faith  of  God.  Divulge  not  incurable  difficulties. 
Keep  your  own  councils,  that  the  disadvantages  of  this  sad  Old 
World  may  not  encumber  you  there  in  the  New;  observe  the 
law  and  keep  the  faith." 

The  brothers  are  silent,  sad.  An  extended  hand,  a  half- 
suppressed  adieu,  is  had,  and  then  an  heart-felt,  old-fashioned 
farewell  is  extended  and  returned.  Sadly  away  the  brothers 
turn ;  the  old  knight  sinks  back  into  his  couch,  again  thoughtful, 
silent,  at  rest. 


ELIOTS   IN   ENGLAND.  21 

By  this  the  shades  of  night  are  beginning  to  becloud  the 
Tower,  and  the  brothers,  turned,  are  beginning  to  tread  down- 
ward the  various  stairways  that  -wind  in  and  about  its  dark 
dungeons  and  lofty  walls.  Descending  cautiously,  the  terrible 
apparitions  of  England's  royal  cruelties,  with  unseemly  sights  of 
her  sainted  subjects  slain  within  this  fearful  fortress,  fall  con- 
stantly upon  their  vision.  At  every  footstep,  the  hollow,  sepul- 
chral rotunda  resounds  with  the  agonizing  sighs  and  groans,  as 
the  spectral  victims  of  regal  rage  and  power  of  the  past  seem 
constantly  to  give  unearthly  utterances.  From  the  ceiling,  from 
every  step  and  stairway,  the  complaints  of  sainted  souls,  whose 
blood  had  been  shed  here,  and  whose  dust  hath  been  trampled 
under  the  foot  of  princely  power,  seem  everywhere  audible. 
From  the  pores  of  the  pilasters  and  crevices  of  the  eternal 
walls,  the  innocent  blood  of  men  and  women,  in  the  midst  of 
sepulchral  accents,  seems  to  ooze  out.  Nay,  behind  e*  cry  statue 
or  image  of  royalty,  behind  the  bloody  block,  or  rack  of  torture, 
or  statue,  as  they  pass,  unseemly  ghosts  of  kings,  or  of  queens, 
or  of  martyred  innocence,  strangely  appear,  peeping  out. 

Thus,  to  the  Apostle  and  brothers  in  the  Tower,  while  ram- 
bling in  the  midst  of  its  terrible  emblems,  did  injured  humanity, 
and  the  dread  maledictions  of  a  just  God,  move  their  Puritan 
minds  into  a  sad  melancholy.  Out  of  it,  advancing  to  the  arch- 
way of  the  traitor's  gate,  there  they  pause,  but  to  reflect,  how 
oft  had  royalty  and  grandeur  passed  beneath  its  portals; 
how  often  here  had  "the  dreams  of  honor  and  glory,"  and 
"  the  brilliancy  of  courts,"  been  exchanged  for  the  dungeon,  the 
torture-room,  and  the  scaffold.  Advancing  farther  out,  they 
reach  the  Bloody  Tower,  where,  near  it,  is  the  iron  railing  upon 
the  green,  which  encloses  the  block  at  which  Lady  Jane  Grey 
last  kneeled,  yielding  up  her  life. 

Thence  backward  they  glance,  taking  a  comprehensive  last 
look  at  that  old  vast  white  fortress,  and  the  twelve  great  towers, 
with  embattlenients,  that  stand  around  it ;  and  thence,  not  far 
away,  to  behold  that  ancient  St.  Peter's  chapel,  within  which 
the  bodies  of  fated  prisoners  numerously  in  the  silent  dust 
moulder. 


ELIOTS    IN   ENGLAND. 


LEAVING  THE  TOWER. 

Now,  with  heavy  hearts,  but  with  lightsome  step,  leaving, 
the  Eliot  brothers  hasten  away  on  their  half-bewildered,  back- 
ward return.  And  now  the  pale  moon,  amid  the  bright  stars 
of  heaven  rising,  beholds  them  wandering,  first  nearing  the  old 
College  of  Heraldry,  which  records  the  valor  of  England's  best 
blood;  and  then  next  near  the  towering  walls  of  St.  Paul;  and 
then  round  through  the  stately  gateway  of  Temple  Bar,  which 
to  this  day  marks  the  entrance  through  the  once- frowning  walls 
of  the  first  London  ;  and  thence  away  they  wander,  to  the  ship 
"  Lyon,"  which  on  the  morrow  is  to  waft  them  away,  —  away 
from  conflicting  powers ;  away  from  unholy,  oppressive  dynas- 
ties ;  away  from  a  bewildered  populace  and  a  distracted  repre- 
sentation; away  from  an  insane  kingdom,  driven  to  terrible 
extremes  by  unhallowed,  cruel  conflicts. 

On  board  the  ship,  after  taking  the  required  oaths  of  "allegi- 
ance and  supremacie,"  the  brothers,  in  their  bunks,  tired,  all 
night  long  in  dreams  are  thoughtful,  both  of  the  past  and  of 
the  future.  Morning,  now  breaking  in  upon  them,  adorns  the 
Avorld  with  uncommon  glories ;  and  the  big  ship  on  the  way  is 
now  beginning  to  brave  the  broad  billows.  The  sweet  breezes 
of  heaven,  promising  freerlom,  prosperity,  and  progress,  are 
whispering  in  the  rigging  like  the  harp  of  a  David,  the  thrill- 
ing, peaceful  acclaim  of  an  evangelist,  or  like  the  seraphic 
song  of  congregated  angels;  and  away  that  brave  old  bark,  as 
if  in  the  care  of  a  God  of  Love,  moves  straight  onward,  west- 
ward. 

Another  night  has  cast  her  lights  and  shades  over  the  vast 
expanse,  bringing  back  again  the  beauteous  morn,  when  a  voice 
from  the  high  deck  is  heard,  — 

"  Come  aloft,  my  companions,  the  billows  are  beauteous, 
To  the  God  of  creation  devotedly  duteous." 

Obediently  all  are  aloft.  And  now  the  boundless  ocean,  rolling 
«p  her  billows  to  the  sky,  and  the  brilliant  azure  of  the  God- 
given  sunlight  playing  upon  the  wild  waters,  the  ship's  canvas, 
and  the  clouds,  inspires  the  world. 


ELIOTS   IN   ENGLAND.  23 

"  Ah!  "  says  the  Apostle  to  his  comrades,  "  this  is  life,  in  its 
progress ;  life  foreshadowed !  Still,  indeed,  there  are  storms 
and  gales  and  even  tempests  on  the  way.  This  highway  vast 
is  fraught  with  doubt  and  dread  dangers;  yet  through  faith 
and  trust  and  trial,  we  will  reach  the  New  World.  Nay,  as  we 
advance  farther  onward  iu  life's  journeyings,  not  less  of  storm 
and  of  tempest  will  beset  us  on  the  way,  advancing  to  that 
beautiful  land  above,  of  which  our  dear  old  father  had  in  fer- 
vent faith  advised  us." 

"Be  heedful,  my  brother,"  said  Philip.  "Remember,  when 
in  the  Tower,  our  Sir  John  advised  caution,  that  neither  our 
town  of  nativity  nor  the  name  of  the  dear  father  be  disclosed." 

"Yes,"  said  the  Apostle,  "  that  name,  always  dear  at  heart, 
needs  never  to  be  expressed. 

•  O,  no,  I  '11  never  mention  him, 

That  name  shall  ne'er  be  heard; 
My  lips  are  hence  forbidden  to  speak 
That  once  familiar  word."  " 

Back  now  to  the  cabin  the  brothers  return.  The  old  ship, 
keeping  her  course  onward,  the  breath  of  heaven  swelling  the 
sails  auspiciously,  outrides  the  storm  and  tempest,  and  at 
length,  after  many  days,  beneath  brighter  skies,  lands  her 
freight  of  valiant  hearts  at  Plymouth  on  the  shores  of  New 
England.  Philip  had  come,  as  if  for  the  defence  of  liberty, 
being  soon  found  in  the  gallant  ranks  of  the  "Ancient  and 
Honorable,"  at  its  origin,  and  then  next  in  the  honored  halls 
of  legislation.  Jacob,  also,  a  Puritan  gentleman,  had  come, 
making  himself  highly  useful  in  support  of  a  laborious  indus- 
try, and  iu  the  furtherance  of  the  benign  rules  of  law  and 
justice.  John  was  here  also,  to  proclaim  the  divine  law,— 
Love  to  God,  and  love  to  the  red-man  in  the  wilderness. 


LESSONS  OP  LAW  AND  LIFE. 


"  It  is  wise  to  recur  to  our  ancestors.  Those  who  do  not  look 
upon  themselves  as  a  link  connecting  the  past  with  the  future, 
do  not  perform  their  duty  to  the  world." — DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE, 


CHAPTER    I. 

NOTHING  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  shall  prove 
more  profitable  than  the  study  of  the  lives  and  charac- 
ters of  great  and  good  men.  Such  men,  like  an  index, 
serve  to  lead  the  way  to  an  improved  civilization,  and  to 
a  more  devoted  fidelity  to  God  and  to  mankind.  To 
study  and  know  them  is  wisdom ;  to  follow  their  pre- 
cepts and  examples,  bespeaks  an  abundant  success  in 
this  life,  and  the  gain  of  a  glorious  reward  beyond  it. 
The  lessons  thus  to  be  learned  are  practical;  tending  to 
manliness,  to  sobriety,  to  a  stern  integrity,  to  a  diligent 
industry,  and  to  a  fervent  faith. 

I  therefore  invoke  the  attention  of  my  readers,  for  a 
brief  period,  to  such  light  and  learning  as  may  be  ob- 
tained from  the  extraordinary  life  and  character  of  John 
Eliot,  as  seen  in  and  through  his  evangelical  mission  to 
the  Indian  tribes  of  New  England.  For  two  centuries, 
Eliot,  with  the  faith  and  fruits  of  his  mission,  hath  been 
estimated  as  the  common  property"  of  all  New  England. 
Like,  as  from  a  province  of  real  estate,  held  jointly,  the 
generations  have  hitherto  been  constantly  benefited  by 
his  exemplary  productive  life  and  character. 

Still  onward,  in  this  light  of  history,  Eliot's  force  — 

26 


26  JOHN    ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

his  holy  aspirations,  his  labors  of  love,  his  vast  under- 
takings, and  his  valiant  perseverance  in  the  midst  of 
opposition,  still  exist,  and  shall  afford  to  the  intelligent 
reader  pleasure  and  profit  forever. 

The  obstacles  which  encumbered  his  way  were  hazard- 
ous and  fearful, —  yet  valiantly  he  advanced.  History 
points  to  no  one  man  of  so  much  force,  against  such  em- 
barrassments ;  of  so  much  perseverance,  against  such  dis- 
couragements ;  of  so  much  patience,  under  such  provoca- 
tions; of  so  much  laborious  industry,  with  an  apparently 
slender  constitution ;  of  so  much  endurance,  under  severe 
hardships  and  keen  sufferings;  and  with  so  much  faith 
and  consecration  to  his  God  and  to  his  fellow-man, — 
never  failing,  never  faltering. 

Such  was  the  man  who  made  our  English  Bible  speak 
the  Indian  language ;  who  raised  up  missionaries ;  and 
who,  for  forty  years,  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  wild  man 
of  the  wilderness;  and  who  thereby  had  turned  many 
hearts  from  a  savage  life  Zion-ward.  And  when  the 
dread  conflict  with  Philip  had  come,  and  civilization  in 
New  England,  as  against  barbarism,  seemed  quivering 
in  the  scale,  yet,  protesting  against  the  use  of  carnal 
weapons,  Eliot  held  the  balance  of  power,  and  thus,  in 
the  end,  served  to  tip  the  scale  to  the  side  of  civiliza- 
tion —  lost  the  tribes,  but  saved  the  white  man,  who  still 
pursued,  leaving  the  lone  Indian  mother  to  her  lamenta- 
tions :  — 

"  I  will  go  to  my  tent,  and  lie  down  in  despair ; 
I  will  paint  me  in  black,  and  dishevel  my  hair ; 
I  will  sit  on  the  shore  where  the  hurricane  blows, 
And  will  tell  to  the  God  of  the  tempest  my  woes. 
I  will  weep  for  a  season,  on  bitterness  fed, 
For  my  kindred  have  gone  to  the  mounds  of  the  dead; 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  27 

But  they  died  not  of  hunger,  nor  wasting  decay,  — 
The  steel  of  the  white-man  hath  swept  them  away." 

That  balance  of  power,  which  the  Apostle,  in  his  mission, 
held,  was  none  other  than  the  power  of  Christian  love. 

LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

John  Eliot  first  lived  in  the  far-off  England,  in  the 
year  1604.  He  left  this  world  of  care  and  conflicts,  at 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  May  20,  1690,  at  the  venerable  age  of 
eighty-six  years. 

In  personal  appearance  (if  we  may  judge  from  his 
portrait),  he  was  a  little  above  medium  height,  in  form 
slender,  and  in  features  not  entirely  unlike  the  honest 
face  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

After  completing  his  education  in  England,  Eliot 
embarked  for  the  New  World,  —  landed  in  Boston  in 
November,  1631,  —  and  there,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven, 
raised  the  banner  of  the  Cross. 

Soon,  a  train  of  neighbors  and  friends  followed  him. 
They  settled  near  him,  at  Roxbury ;  and  the  next  year 
they  called  him  there,  to  be  their  minister.* 

Obeying  their  call,  he  took  his  final  stand  at  Rox- 
bury, as  if  upon  the  loftiest  part  of  Z ion's  walls,  and 
he  held  his  station  there  all  the  way  onward,  through 
the  remainder  of  his  long  life.f 

INTOLERANCE. 

That  want  of  toleration,  which  had  driven  the  Pil- 
grims over  here,  eleven  years  previously,  probably  had 
much  influence,  inducing  Eliot  also  to  sever  the  social 

*  Bacon'3  Hist,  of  Natick,  ch.  2,  p.  12;  ch.  15,  p.  152. 
t  Memoir  of  Eliot,  pp.  8,  9, 10. 


28  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

ties,  to  forsake  the  friends  of  his  youth,  and,  far  away 
over  the  great  deep,  to  cast  his  lot  among  the  sons  of 
strife. 

Thus,  over  here,  as  if  at  the  command  of  God,  "  Go 
ye  into  all  the  world,"  the  Apostle  began  his  work.  He 
began  it  —  where  every  man  ought  to  begin  to  labor,  to 
wit,  at  the  main  obstacle  to  be  overcome  —  where  the 
most  good  can  be  done,  or  where  the  noblest  ends  in  life 
may  be  accomplished. 

THE  POSITION. 

Looking  back,  we  seem  to  see  the  evangelist,  as  in  full 
life,  standing  on  the  highest  point  of  that  Zion's  hill  of 
his,  as  if,  at  the  outset,  to  look  the  landscape  over. 
Afar  off  before  him,  in  the  distance,  the  lofty  moun- 
tain-peaks tower  up  towards  heaven ;  —  they  stand  there, 
against  the  sky. 

His  sharp  vision  seems  to  descry  the  Connecticut,  the 
mighty  Merrimac,  and  the  Saco,  as  they,  in  ten  thousand 
rills,  leap  forth  from  the  mountains,  forming  these  rivers, 
up  to  that  time  unmeasured  of  the  white  man,  and 
which,  ever  since  the  Creation,  had  been  rolling  and 
meandering  downward,  through  a  wild  old  wilderness, 
to  the  sea. 

INDIAN  NATIONS. 

In  the  dense  forest,  and  in  and  about  these  rivers  of 
water,  and  along  the  shores  of  the  sea,  are  thirty  nations 
of  native  Indians,  numbering,  in  all,  fifty  thousand. 
These  nations,  organized  under  laws  unwritten,  wander 
iu  tribes,  as  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  before 
civilization  dawned,  did  wander  in  tribes. 

The  Pilgrim  Fathers  are  at  Plymouth  and  vicinity, 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  29 

and  the  scattered  Puritan  settlements  are  beginning  to 
make  openings  in  the  landscape. 

The  field  was  to  be  the  world ;  and  this  New  England 
world,  thus  spread  out  before  him,  was  thenceforth  to  be 
Eliot's  field,  —  a  field,  then  a  wilderness,  full  of  ferocious 
beasts,  and  of  ungodly,  unbridled  red-men ;  and  yet  a 
field  which,  through  the  Evangelical  leadership  of  John 
Eliot,  is  to  be  cleared  up  and  cultivated  ;  and  which,  in 
the  far  future,  under  the  sunshine  of  heaven,  is  to  become 
a  flowery  field,  bearing  upon  it,  everywhere,  not  carnal 
weapons,  but  the  sweet  fruits  of  a  Christian  civilization. 

And  now,  at  this  distant  day,  although  there  are 
secluded  corners  in  the  field,  where  the  generations  have 
gone  down,  — in  which  many  of  us  have  sometimes  been 
made  to  weep;  yet  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  that,  through 
the  leadership  of  Eliot,  in  God's  ministry,  those  corners, 
all  over  New  England,  have  been  made  to  our  people 
as  the  very  gateways  to  heaven.  Plain  it  is,  that  this 
New  England  field,  with  all  its  gates  and  guide-boards 
heavenward,  although  two  hundred  years  have  passed 
away,  now  remains,  and,  through  all  the  generations  yet 
to  come,  shall  remain,  still  to  flourish  and  bear  fruit,  as 
having  descended,  with  all  its  vernal  glories,  from  that 
same  ancient,  original  Christian  proprietor,  John  Eliot, 
the  Evangelist. 

His  FIRST  WORK. 

At  first  the  Apostle,  in  preparation  for  his  final  great 
effort,  directed  all  his  sermons  to  the  white  man, — 
seeking  to  build  up  strong  exemplary  churches  in  the 
hamlets  held  by  English  settlers,  at  his  own  Roxbury, 
and  elsewhere.* 

*  Dearborn's  Sketch  of  Eliot'a  Life,  p.  13. 


30  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

His  habits  were  like  this :  Every  second  Sabbath  of 
his  ministry  he  preached  away  from  home,  to  the  white 
settlers  of  the  neighboring  towns.*  And  thus  onward, 
for  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his  ministry ;  while,  in  these 
same  years,  he  was  educating,  as  well  as  he  might,  his 
Indian  young  men  and  others,  who,  in  due  time,  were  to 
be  his  preachers,  his  printers,  his  proof-readers,  and 
interpreters ;  and  who,  in  the  wilderness,  were  to  aid 
him  in  the  vast  undertaking  of  evangelizing  the  tribes. 

During  all  these  years  he  was  at  work  with  his  pen,  — 
by  pamphlet,  by  letter,  and  by  many  books,  —  shaping 
and  concentrating  public  opinion  to  the  great  plan  of  his 
operations.  Also,  by  prayer  and  petition,  at  home  and 
abroad,  he  from  the  commencement,  and  from  time  to 
time,  continually  obtained  material  aid  and  encourage- 
ment for  the  carrying  out  of  his  design. 

His  APPAREL. 

Again,  let  us  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  Evangelist, 
as  he  appeared  two  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago,  when 
about  to  move  upon  his  Indian  mission. 

We  will  imagine  him  still  there,  on  the  high  hill  at 
Roxbury,  —  in  his  common  costume,  an  English  dress- 
coat  or  sack ;  small  clothes,  long  boots,  and  a  slouched 
broad-brimmed  hat. 

There  he  stands,  as  if  divinely  meditating,  as  if  con- 
templating the  long  labors  of  life,  in  that  vast  field 
of  which  we  have  spoken,  and  which  the  God  of  Nature 
had  spread  out  before  him. 

*  History  of  Natick,  ch.  1,  p.  12. 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE.  31 

LOCATION  OF  THE  TKIBES. 

From  thence,  away  to  the  west  of  him  (as  he  could 
but  discover),  there  are  six  nations  of  Mohawks,  made 
up  of  many  tribes,  leading  useless,  wayward,  wandering 
lives. 

Northeast  of  him,  on  the  Sagadahock,  and  all  along 
towards  the  eastern  borders  of  Maine,  he  calls  to  his 
vision  those  troublesome  warlike  tribes,  the  Tarratines, 
or  Abanaquise,  who  twenty  years  previously  had  come 
up  here  from  the  East,  wielding  weapons  of  war ;  and, 
accelerated  by  the  plague  of  1617,  had  destroyed  the 
entire  Patuxet  nation,  leaving  their  bones  to  be  bleached 
upon  the  hills  and  in  the  vales,  —  seen  often,  doubtless, 
of  Eliot,  as  well  as  of  the  Pilgrims. 

Not  far  away  from  him,  on  the  left,  are  the  ashes  of 
that  great  Indian  fort,  on  the  Mystic,  where,  as  appears, 
through  the  weapons  of  war  and  flames  of  fire,  a  hostile 
Pequot  nation  had  in  one  night  (1637)  all  perished  by 
the  English  sabre. 

To  the  southwest  of  him,  as  he  there  stands,  are  the 
Narragansetts,  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  led 
of  Canonicus,  and  of  that  fated,  but  brave  old  chief, 
Miantonimo. 

From  the  same  height,  away  to  the  left,  are  the  flagrant 
Mohegans  of  Connecticut,  at  the  head  of  which  Uncas 
reigned  as  chief,  —  wild  in  all  of  his  infidelity  and 
barbarism. 

Then  next,  more  immediately  in  front  of  the  Apostle, 
as  he  looks  northward,  in  contemplation,  are  the  Nipmuck 
tribes,  roaming  and  hunting  all  over  that  tract  of  country 
which  lies  between  the  great  rivers  Connecticut  and 
Merrimac.  Hence,  all  of  us  who  happen  to  reside 


32  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

southwest  of  the  Merritnac,  if  natives,  might  be  denom- 
inated Nipmucks. 

Northward,  at  Concord,  and  along  the  banks  of  the 
Merrimac,  wandered  the  peaceful  Pennacook  and  the 
Wamesit  tribes,  then  led  by  that  venerable  sachem  and 
necromancer,  Passaconaway,  whose  people,  at  a  later 
period,  were  ruled  for  several  years  by  his  son,  Wona- 
lancet. 

Though  a  peace-maker,  once,  in  a  time  of  hostilities, 
this  chief,  with  becoming  prudence,  established  an  Indian 
fortification  at  Fort  Hill,  on  the  east  of  the  Concord 
River,  at  Wamesit.* 

ELIOT'S  FIDELITY. 

The  soul-trying  incidents  of  the  forty  years  of  the 
Apostle's  life,  then  yet  to  come,  beginning  to  be  disclosed, 
are  now  breaking  in  upon  his  vision.  There  are  lions, 
terribly  ferocious,  prone,  lurking  along  his  pathway,  in 
prospect,  all  the  way  onward,  with  all  their  devouring 
threatenings. 

Yet  he  must  advance,  must  move  onward,  to  the 
responsible,  the  noble,  and  soul-trying  duties  of  an 
evangelist,  in  the  midst  of  unlettered  savages. 

Whatever  there  may  be  of  trouble  on  the  way  or  in 
the  field  of  operations,  he  is  constantly,  duteously  to  be 

*  We  suggest,  that  on  Fort  Hill  there  ought  to  be  erected  two 
statues, — one  to  John  Eliot,  the  Apostle;  and  another  to  the  peaceful 
Wanalancet,  holding  the  fort.  Such  statues  in  our  Wamesit,  proclaiming 
peace  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  Christian  civilization  on  the  other,  while 
they  would  evince  the  magnanimity  of  our  people,  would  tend,  for  a  thousand 
years,  to  inspire  the  generations  to  a  becoming  peacefulness,  to  a  diligent 
industry,  to  a  truthful  fidelity  to  mankind,  and  to  a  stronger  faith  in  Him 
whom  the  Apostle  so  devoutly  loved  and  served. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  33 

there.  What  though  the  very  elements  are  to  conspire 
to  hedge  up  the  way ;  what  though  the  wintry  blasts  of 
snow  and  hail  and  tempest,  as  they  were  wont  to  come, 
sweeping  away  "  the  honors  "  of  a  thousand  years,  from 
that  vast  old  wilderness,  —  John  Eliot  is  to  be  there, 
and  there,  too,  in  a  fervent  faith,  —  faith  that  the  same 
God,  who  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  would 
also  be  there  ;  and  he  was  there. 

Nayr  even  though  the  thunders  of  war,  in  their  threat- 
enings,  begin  to  break  forth  from  a  New  England  sky, 
such  in  their  terrors  as  were  never  known  on  earth 
before  (save  in  the  bloody  tragedies  of  a  Homer),  even 
then  John  Eliot  must  be  there,  holding  out  a  healing 
hand  divine,  and  bearing  aloft  the  beautiful  Christian 
banner  of  peace  and  love. 

And  though  destruction  is  impending,  and  a  threatened 
distraction  may  be  about  to  fall  upon  his  native  churches, 
driving  and  carrying  his  Indian  Christian  people  into 
exile  and  imprisonment;  yet  the  Apostle,  like  the  good 
shepherd,  is  to  follow  the  flock,  is  to  stand  between  the 
fires,  is  to  administer  comfort,  and  is  to  bind  up  the 
broken  heart.* 

Nay,  aside  from  the  carnal  conflicts  of  war,  when  its 
tearful  terrors  have  waned  away,  there  arc  to  the 
evangelist  terrible  trials  still.  And  what  of  all  this? 

What  though  strong  men  refuse  "to  bow  themselves," 
heeding  not  the  way  ?  What  though  the  bowl,  and  the 
wheel,  and  "the  pitcher,  be  broken"?  What  though,  in 
the  events  of  this  New  World,  the  sun  and  moon  and 
the  stars  are  to  be  darkened?  What  even,  if  all  "the 

*  Dearborn's  Sketch  of  Eliot's  Life,  p.  15. 


34  JOHN"   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

keepers  of  the  house"  are  trembling?  List!  list!  High 
above  all,  the  tribes  are  to  hear  the  clarion  voice  of  the 
evangelist,  fearlessly  proclaiming  the  word,  —  faithfully 
seeking  to  save  that  which  seemed  to  be  lost. 

For  Eliot  knew,  as  we  know,  that  "  man  goeth  to  his 
long  home  " ;  that  his  "  dust  must  return  to  the  earth  as 
it  was";  and  that  his  never-dying  spirit  must  go  back  to 
the  God  who  gave  it. 

TROUBLES  IN  ENGLAND. 

Eliot  had  left  the  Old  World,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1631, 
when  the  unfortunate  Charles  the  First  was  king,  and  at 
the  time  when  the  religious  creeds  of  the  realm  were 
distracted,  all  in  dread  conflict;  when  the  King  was  at 
war  against  Parliament,  and  Parliament  was  angry 
against  the  King;  when  our  English  government  was 
powerless  to  advance,  its  wheels  being  clogged  up,  the 
kingdom  throughout  broken  down,  and  falling  apart  into 
factions.  It  was  then  the  religious  and  political  rights 
of  the  realm  were  being  trampled  down  under  the  feet 
of  tyrants,*  and  the  armies  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland  in  conflict  were  making  sad  havoc  on  bloody 
fields  of  battle. 

Eliot  left  England,  and  in  leaving  forsook,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  comrades  of  his  youth,  among  whom  there  was 
a  strong  young  man,  whose  valiant  heart,  like  his  own, 
was  full  of  republicanism.  That  man,  disgusted  with  the 
English  government  in  its  distracted  condition,  had  with 
other  refugees,  packed  up  his  trunks  to  embark  for  our 
New  England  shores,  but  was  prevented.  It  was 

*  Hume's  History  of  England,  vol.  5,  pp.  85-434.   Rush.,  vol  2,  pp.  40P-418. 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE.  35 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

But  the  God  of  governments,  as  if  for  wise  ends,  turned 
the  intent  of  Cromwell,  to  still  remain  in  England ;  *  while 
John  Eliot  was  led,  for  another  wise  purpose,  to  seek  his 
field  of  apostolic  labors  in  the  wilderness  of  a  new  world. 

At  that  time,  as  we  have  seen,  the  English  government 
was  fast  falling  to  pieces  through  its  internal  religious 
and  political  infirmities,  which  resulted  in  the  downfall 
of  King  Charles  the  First,  who,  at  length,  was  beheaded 
at  the  decree  of  about  seventy  judges. 

Thus,  while  Cromwell  became  the  great  Protector  in 
the  Old  World,  John  Eliot  came  over  here,  and  became 
renowned  as  the  great  primeval  leader  to  a  Christian 
civilization  among  the  settlers  and  Indian  nations  of  the 
New. 

MATERIAL  AID. 

He  was  encouraged  to  advance  upon  his  mission 
through  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  the  universities 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  upon  a  missionary  society 
in  his  native  England,  as  well  as  upon  our  own  Colonial 
government  at  home. 

Cromwell,  as  appears,  encouraged  Eliot*  and  Eliot,  in 
his  way,  tried  to  obey  and  sustain  the  English  govern- 
ment, under  him,  as  the  great  Protector  of  both  countries. 

THE  BOOK. 
During  the  existence  of  Cromwell's  government,  seven 

*"  Urged  by  his  wants  and  his  piety,  he  had  made  a  party  with  Hambdcn, 
his  near  kinsman,  who  was  pressed  only  by  the  latter  motive,  to  transport 
himself  into  New  England,  now  become  the  retreat  of  the  more  zealous 
among  the  Puritanical  party;  and  it  was  on  an  order  of  Council  which 
obliged  them  to  disembark  and  remain  in  England."  — Hume,  vol.  5,  ch.  61, 
p.  437. 


36  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

years,  —  up  to  the  end  of  his  (the  Protector's)  life,  Sept.  3, 
1658,  —  Eliot  had  written  a  work  entitled  "  The  Christian 
Commonwealth,"  in  which  he  planned,  and  bestowed 
praise  upon,  and  chalked  out  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment. But,  alas  !  Before  the  book  issued  extensively 
from  the  press,  Cromwell  dying,  the  government,  in  a  year 
or  two,  changed  back  to  a  kingdom ;  and  then  Charles  the 
Second  (a  son  of  the  beheaded  Charles),  being  crowned 
king,  and  becoming  apparently  dangerous,  as  against  the 
active  adherents  to  Cromwell's  administration,  is  filled 
full  of  exasperation  against  all  ideas  of  republicanism. 

This  event  exposed  the  Apostle's  head  to  great  danger, 
by  reason  of  his  having  written  that  "Christian  Com- 
monwealth," which  indirectly  assailed  the  Crown.  The 
Colonial  government  became  anxious,  and  advised  the 
suppression  of  the  book ;  and  for  the  sake  of  his  great 
cause  and  of  his  life,  Eliot  suppressed  the  manuscript, 
and  the  book  never  issued.* 

These  Avere  times  of  trial  in  both  countries.  The. 
tide  in  tyrannical  events  rolled  high.f  All  of  the  Crom- 
well adherents  were  narrowly  watched. 

The  regicide  judges,  who  had  sat  in  the  trial  of  the 
late  king,  —  some  of  them,  caught  in  England,  were 
beheaded  there;  some  of  them  escaped  to  foreign 
countries.  Three  of  them  at  least,  coming  to  Boston 
in  1660,  were  followed,  and  were  pursued  here,  in  Con- 
necticut, in  and  about  Hadley,  Mass.,  and  other  places, 
by  the  king's  constables.  Fortunately,  by  flight  and 
concealment,  from  place  to  place,  in  the  caves  of  the 
wilderness,  they  escaped  violent  death. 

*  Eliot's  Life,  by  Francis,  p.  210.  f  5  Hume,  p.  434. 


JOHN"   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  37 

Thus,  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  did  Jolm 
Eliot  foreshadow  our  republican  form  of  government 
in  his  "Christian  Commonwealth,"  thus  suppressed;  yet 
his  cautious  plans  and  suggestions  became  popular,  and 
lived  to  be  adopted  and  sustained,  by  a  noble  nation,  an 
hundred  years  after  his  death. 

"  Truth  crushed  to  earth  shall  rise  again, 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers." 

ELIOT  AND  THE  KING. 

Still  he  takes  courage.  Invoking  the  angry  king,  Eliot 
makes  him  his  friend,  and  also  a  contributor,  in  the 
carrying  forward  his  mission  to  the  Indian  nations. 
With  long  and  eloquent  letters,  he  presented  to  the 
king  translations  of  our  English  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments into  the  Indian  language,  and  thereby  obtained 
favor  and  patronage  from  the  throne  itself.* 

REPUBLICAN  GOVERNMENT. 

The  Hebrew  commonwealth,  organized  and  officered 
by  Moses  of  old,  undoubtedly  had  some  influence  upon 
the  Apostle's  action,  in  the  forming  of  a  commonwealth. 
In  this  respect,  he  could  but  see  Moses  had  his  seventy- 
two  elders,  which  would  answer  to  our  U.  S.  Senate; 
his  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  may  be  likened  to  the  origi- 
nal thirteen  United  States ;  and  his  congregation  of  the 
people,  as  appears,  may  be  taken  to  accord  with  our 
House  of  Representatives. 

Moses  himself,  occupying  the  place  of  president,  pre- 
sided over  the  whole.  Such  a  government  is  supposed 

*  Life  of  Eliot,  pp.  258,  259. 


38  JOHN    ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

to  be  the  best,  if  not  the  strongest,  of  all.  In  this, 
Moses  and  Cromwell  and  Eliot  and  Washington  all  seem 
to  agree. 

ELIOT'S  ORDER. 

In  all  his  operations,  the  Apostle  was  exact,  and  full 
of  discipline.  A  civil  officer,  Major-General  Gookin,  a 
wise,  conciliatory  man,  usually  attended  him.  Gookin 
had  been  clothed,  by  the  Colonial  government,  with  a 
power  of  organization  over  the  people,  —  a  power,  to  a 
certain  extent,  both  judicial  and  executive.  So,  it 
appears,  Gookin  appointed  civil  officers ;  sat  as  judge, 
holding  courts ;  and  issued  commissions  to  the  Indian 
rulers  of  hundreds  or  of  fifties  or  of  tens,  as  the  tribes, 
under  the  Apostle,  saw  fit  to  elect  them,  and  as  the  good 
of  the  Indian  church,  from  time  to  time,  seemed  to 
require.* 

Thus  Eliot  and  Gookin,  moving  together,  constituted 
an  efficient,  peaceful,  executive  power ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  prudently  led  the  way  to  a  progressive  Christian 
civilization. 

LAW. 

Believing  order  to  be  the  first  law  of  heaven,  it  was 
one  of  the  axioms  under  which  Eliot,  in  his  economy, 
always  moved.  From  his  life  and  example  we  gather 
these  rules: 

1.  There  must  always  be  a  ruler,  or  leader,  to  every 
organization. 

2.  That  a  ruler,  or  leader,  is  never  to  be  ^ignored,  but 

*  Bigelow's  His.  of  Natick,  p.  22.    Sketch  of  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  17. 


JOHN  ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  39 

is  always  to  be  respected  and  followed,  for  the  office'  sake, 
if  for  nothing  else. 

3.  That  the  first  great  maxim  in  a  kingdom,  to  wit : 
that  "  the  King  can  do  no  wrong  "  (though  that  may  not 
be  true  in  fact),  is  sound  in  principle,  and  unless  revolu- 
tion is  intended,  must  be  observed  and  followed  through- 
out, from  the  king  down  to  the  humblest  parent  of  a 
family. 

RULERS. 

A  leader,  once  known,  whether  appointed  of  man  or 
of  God  (as  in  case  of  a  parent),  must  be  recognized,  and 
must  always  be  followed.  Everything  else  would  be 
disorder;  everything  else  is  grief;  everything  else  is 
revolution,  distraction. 

To  illustrate  this  :  take  the  leader  of  the  family,  and 
then  the  leader  of  a  church  organization,  and  then  the 
leader  of  a  town,  or  state,  or  of  the  United  States,  as 
may  be  seen  in  a  President.  Now  every  one  of  these, 
for  the  peace,  safety,  and  well-being  of  the  respective 
bodies  which  they  severally  represent,  must  be  recognized 
as  such,  and  followed. 

For  instance,  our  President,*  although  many  may  disap- 
prove some  of  his  acts  and  measures,  yet,  in  a  general 
sense,  he  must  be  upheld  and  sustained.  What  if  he 
was  not  well  chosen  ?  He  was  so  declared  to  be  by  the 
united  force  and  voice  of  this  great  nation.  Hence  he 
must  needs  be  sustained,  otherwise  anarchy,  confusion, 
and  general  distraction  would  follow. 

What  if  he  did  (as  some  have  alleged)  bargain  away 
the  rights  of  others, — tending  to  cripple  the  political 
liberties  of  the  f reed-man?  What  if  he  did  extend  a 
*1879. 


40  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

conciliatory  compromise  to  a  Ku-Klux  Clan,  then  armed 
offensively  with  thousands  of  rifles,  threatening  violence 
and  blood  ?  Even  if  all  this  be  true,  by  the  laws  of  God 
and  the  rules  of  government,  it  is  but  wise  and  just  in 
the  people  to  sustain  him  to  the  end  of  his  term.  Other- 
wise anarchy,  distraction,  and  confusion  would  follow, 
and  thousands  of  hearts  would  be  made  to  bleed  all  over 
the  land. 

Hence,  duteously,  as  Eliot  would  say,  we  must  always 
follow  the  leader,  —  in  the  country  at  large,  in  the  state, 
and  in  the  family.*  Thus,  under  the  Apostle  for  the 
Indian  church,  as  elsewhere,  you  would  always  find  a 
leading  ruler,  with  a  teache^,  and  oftentimes  an  interpre- 
ter, having  a  watchful  care  over  ten  Christians,  or  over 
thirty,  or  over  fifty,  as  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  a 
Christian  civilization  might  require.  And  to  the  praise 
of  the  red-men  of  the  forest,  Eliot's  rules  and  ordinances 
were  generally  observed,  respected,  and  obeyed  as  such 
by  them.* 

Although  the  Apostle,  under  the  ordinations  of  God, 
with  the  discreet  Gookin  at  his  side  as  a  magistrate,  thus 
ruled,  yet  he  never  seemed  to  rule. 

TEACHERS. 

O  that  the  spirit  of  John  Eliot,  in  the  sight  of  all  these 
subjects,  like  the  light  of  heaven  at  early  morn,  might 
break  in  upon  us,  to  inspire  our  teachers  to  prepare  them- 
selves, that  they  may  train  the  rising  generations  to  the 
true  science  and  economy  of  life ;  that  we  may  all  be 
trained  to  a  becoming  servitude,  —  to  a  code  of  genuine 

*  Cotton  Mather's  Magnalia,  3d  B.,  Art.  2,  p.  494. 


JOHN  ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE.  41 

good  manners ;  without  which  there  can  be  no  substantial 
success  in  the  world;  that  they  may  train  their  pupils, 
male  and  female,  to  love  labor,  industrious,  ardent, 
economical  labor,  without  which  there  can  be  no  sound 
health,  nor  solid,  enduring  comfort;  that  we  may  be 
trained  to  fervent,  lofty  aspirations;  that  henceforth  the 
wanderer  may  be  reclaimed,  and  led  upward  in  life  to 
a  more  congenial  condition,  and  thence  onward  to  a 
glorious  immortality. 

Yes,  let  us  be  trained,  if  leaders,  to  lead  justly,  kindly, 
and  judiciously.  If  mere  servants  we  remain  (and  we 
are  all  more  or  less  servants  in  this  world),  let  us  serve 
heartily  and  faithfully  over  everything,  —  throwing 
bread  upon  the  waters,  helping  the  needy  neighbor  first, 
and  then  ourselves,  as  Eliot  would  do. 

Bear  in  mind,  that  man,  in  his  best  economy,  lives,  by 
helping  others  to  live;  and  remember,  there  are  roads 
enough  to  honor,  and  highways  enough  heavenward,  "for 
all  to  go  up,  without  crowding  one  another." 

CIVIL  POWERS. 

All  the  way  along  in  the  Apostle's  progress,  there  were 
many  elements  of  power  which  had  to  be  respected. 

First  of  all,  there  was  the  parent  English  government 
at  London,  then  distracted,  as  we  have  seen,  by  terrible 
conflicts.  Then,  there  was  the  colonial  government  at 
Boston ;  and  then,  the  loose,  the  rude,  and  undefined 
governments  of  the  Indian  nations.  The  rights  and 
rules,  habits  and  customs,  of  all  these,  at  all  times,  were 
to  be  heeded  and  respected.  For  there  is  no  nobler 
reward  in  this  life,  than  the  consciousness  of  having 
"  rendered  to  all  their  dues." 


CHAPTER   II. 


DISCIPLES. 

Eliot  had  many  pupils,  first  and  last,  —  some  in  prep- 
aration for  the  ministry,  some  for  teachers,  interpreters, 
etc.  Many  of  them  were  schooled  at  the  Indian  college 
at  Cambridge,  among  whom  there  were  Sassamon*  and 
Ephraira,  James  the  Printer,  Daniel,  Waban,f  Piambo, 
Speen,  Oonamo,  Tukaperwillin,  Ohatawan,  Capt.  Tom, 
Old  Jethro,  Numphow,  John  Thomas,  Solomon,  Samuel 
Peter,  Nesutan,t  and  many  others.  Among  his  white 
assistants,  as  clergymen,  teachers,  rulers,  etc.,  there  were 
Rawson,  Gookin,  Thracton,  Dettins,  Bandit,  Noyes, 
Cotton,  Mahew,  Bourne,  and  some  others. 

ELIOT  TAKES  COURAGE. 

From  his  lofty  position,  thus  far  he  had  been  advanc- 
ing, anticipating  the  obstacles  which  at  times  would  roll 
in  to  hedge  up  his  way,  and  which  already  were  often 
encumbering  him  with  many  difficulties. 

*  Sassamon  was  murdered  by  Philip's  Indians.— Memoirs  of  Eliot,  ch.  14, 
p.  86. 

t  Waban  served  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  at  Natick,  and  held  courts  as 
such.    One  of  his  warrants  reads  thus:  "You,  You,  big  constable,  quick  you 
catch  Jeremiah  Offscow,  strong  you  hold  urn,  safe  youbring  urn  befforc  me. 
"  WABAN,  Justice  of  the  Pea  ae." 

J  Slain  in  battle  fighting  for  the  English  at  Mt  Hope.  — Drake's  American 
Indians,  B.  II,  p.  51. 


JOHN   ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  43 

But  now,  in  sight  of  the  prospect,  he  is  said  to  have 
broken  out  in  the  pathos  of  his  warm  and  glowing  heart: 
"I  see  [in  the  distance]  the  day-breaking,  or  the  sun- 
rising,  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  New  England." 

INDIAN  SEEMON. 

Among  the  many  places  where  the  tribes  were  wont  to 
congregate,  when  they  came  up  from  their  fishing  and 
hunting  excursions,  was  a  place  near  Natick  in  Newton, 
called  Notiantam.  This,  in  Indian  language,  means  a 
place  of  rejoicing.  An  intellectual  Indian  chief  occupied 
it,  by  the  name  of  Waban.*  And  Waban's  tent  was 
there. 

Previously  a  proclamation  had  been  sent  forth,  that 
Eliot,  on  a  given  day,  would  preach  to  the  native  nations 
at  Nonantum.  Accordingly,  on  the  twenty-eighth  day 
of  October,  1646,  Eliot  stood  forth  there,  for  the  first 
time,  an  Eoangdist,  in  the  midst  of  the  assembled 
sachems,  powovvs,  sanaps,  necromancers,  the  red-man 
in  his  plumes,  and  squaws,  women,  and  little  children, 
painted  and  adorned,  as  in  primeval  life,  with  rustic 
beads  and  rings,  and  other  appendages,  fashionable  and 
ornamental.  Eliot  stands  forth,  above  them,  proclaiming 
his  text  (Ezekiel  xxxvii,  9):  "Prophesy!  unto  the  wind, 
prophesy,  son  of  man !  and  say  to  the  wind,  —  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God,  Come  from  the  four  winds,  O  breath;  and 
breathe  upon  these  slain,  that  they  may  live!" 

All  are  silent.  Above,  as  he  stands  over  the  multitude, 
there  is  an  open  sky.  The  bleak  winds  of  heaven  are 
moving  the  brave  old  tree-tops  into  silent,  secret 

*  Life  of  Eliot,  pp.  27,  28,  79,  80.    Sketch  of  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  13. 


44  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE. 

whisperings.  The  voice  of  infidelity,  the  war-whoop, 
the  Indian  wood-cry,  and  the  hovvlings  of  the  wild 
beast,  are  hushed  for  the  time  being.  The  Apostle's 
prayer  went  up  to  the  God  of  the  Red-man!  They 
sung  a  song  of  Zion,  —  a  sermon  from  that  text,  and 
from  that  trumpet-toned,  apostolic  voice,  reverberating, 
fell  upon  the  hearts  of  the  then  heathen  inhabitants  of  this 
New  England  world,  for  the  first  time. 

Next?  There 's  something  strange  in  the  sun, — • 
something  strange  in  the  earth  and  in  the  skies. 

What  ails  that  sanap  out  there?  What  ails  the 
soothsayers,  and  the  necromancers,  that  the  pipes  they 
were  smoking  have  unconsciously  fallen  from  their  lips? 
Out  yonder,  what  ails  that  young  squaw  upon  the  leaf- 
covered  ground,  with  little  children  about  her,  that  tears, 
forbidden,  are  falling  from  her  eye-lids  ?  And  afar  off, 
what  ails  the  brave  old  Waban,  at  the  door  of  his  tent, 
weeping? 

What  is  it  but  that  a  live  coal  from  the  altar  of  God 
hath  touched  Waban's  heart? 

Ah !  how  true !  how  propitious !  Waban  is  beginning 
to  sing  that  new  song,  which  no  man  of  his  race  ever 
had  sung  in  New  England,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world. 

Thence,  that  point,  that  place  in  the  wilderness,  em- 
phatically had  become  a  place  of  rejoicing,  ever  after- 
wards to  be  held  sacred.  Indeed,  it  had  become  to  the 
tribes  a  temple  of  worship,  a  gateway  to  heaven. 

NATICK. 

Near  to  Nonantum,  Eliot  obtained  a  gift  (or  exchange) 
of  lands,  on  which  to  build  up  and  organize  an  Indian 


JOHN   ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  45 

town,  which  they  called  Natick,  and  which,  in  their 
language,  means  "a  place  of  the  hills." 

This  Indian  town  was  peopled,  organized,  and  offi- 
cered by  Indians,  —  all  the  affairs  of  which  were 
conducted  in  a  perfectly  orderly  manner,  by  its  Christian 
Indian  inhabitants,  for  nearly  a  century,  all  through  the 
remainder  of  the  Apostle's  life,  and  for  nearly  fifty 
years  afterwards. 

At  Natick,  Eliot,  often  attended  by  his  Indian  ministry, 
continued  to  meet  the  assembled  tribes  of  red-men,  up 
to  the  end  of  his  days,  as  well  as  in  other  Indian  towns, 
then  fast  becoming  civilized,  within  his  spacious  fields 
of  labor. 

PRAYING  INDIANS. 

These  numbered  (up  to  the  commencement  of  King 
Philip's  war,  1674)  1,150 ;  first  and  last,  in  all,  as  some 
say,  3,600. 

INFIDELITY. 

Many  of  the  English  settlers,  from  the  beginning  of 
Eliot's  undertaking,  professed  to  have  no  faith  in  the 
effort  to  civilize  an  Indian. 

This,  at  the  outset,  tended  to  embarrass  and  afflict  the 
Evangelist.  The  desperado,  thus  aided  by  the  weak  and 
jealous  white  man,  who  ought  to  have  known  better, 
obtained  encouragement. 

And  thus,  oftentimes,  his  progress  was  retarded  by  a 
secret  foe  within  the  camp.  Yet  the  labors  and  achieve- 
ments of  John  Eliot  were  more  than  equal  to  those  of 
ten  ordinary  active  men  put  together,  and  his  great 
mission  moved  onward. 


46  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

He  soared  so  far  above  the  mediocrity  of  his  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  vineyard,  that  the  musketry  of  "  the  sap- 
pers and  miners,"  who  are  always  combining  and  ad- 
vancing, in  pursuit  of  great  and  good  men,  to  traduce 
them,  never  could  reach  him. 

SUNSHINE  AND  THE  CLOUD. 

Many  years  of  his  mission  had  now  passed  away. 
Through  storm  and  sunshine,  he  had  already  labored 
among  the  tribes  (from  1646  up  to  1674)  twenty-eight 
years.  In  the  mean  time,  our  English  Bible  had  been 
made,  by  the  Apostle,  to  speak  the  Indian  language. 
And  our  then  New  England  wilderness,  in  its  openings, 
had  been  dotted  with  little  Christian  churches. 

But,  alas  !  there  is  a  war-cloud  in  the  heavens.  King 
Philip  is  angry,  meditating  war  and  blood.  John  Sas- 
samon,  an  Indian  pupil  and  preacher,  who  had  been 
schooled  in  the  Indian  college  at  Cambridge,  hath  been 
murdered  by  Philip's  men. 

Sassamon,  heedlessly,  while  serving  with  Philip  as  an 
interpreter,  etc.,  had  divulged  to  the  English  Philip's 
secret  purpose  of  making  war  against  them.* 

King  Philip,  obtaining  knowledge  of  this  supposed 
treachery  of  Sassamon,  instigated  three  of  his  Indians 
to  murder  him ;  and  this  gave  rise  to  the  trial  of  these 
murderers  in  an  English  court.  All  this  tended  to 
hasten  a  dread  conflict.  The  war-trump  is  sounding. 
It  comes  like  the  rushing  of  a  terrible  tempest,  threat- 
ening devastation  and  death  all  over  this  western  New 
England  world.  The  tomahawk  and  scalping-knif'e,  on 

*  Hubbard's  Indian  Wars,  pp.  78,  79,  80.  Bacon's  History  of  Xatick,  pp. 
29,30. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  47 

the  one  hand,  and  the  English  bayonet  and  the  deadly 
sabre  on  the  other,  are  beginning  to  be  sharpened. 

Alas !  as  against  the  vengeance  of  conflicting  races, 
as  against  ten  thousand  carnal  weapons,  upraised,  threat- 
ening extermination,  indeed,  what  is  to  become  of  the 
faithful  old  Eliot  and  his  Christian  churches  ? 

Ah !  when  the  beautiful  oriole,  down  from  a  leafless, 
wintry  sky,  animated  by  the  sun-beams  of  spring,  hath 
hung  her  nest  to  a  branch  of  the  tree-top  on  high,  she 
takes  joyful  pleasure  in  that  little  church-like  charge  of 
hers,  which  she  holds  at  the  hand  of  nature's  God  —  her 
joys  are  the  joys  of  Heaven. 

But  there  is  a  cloud  in  the  sky ;  and  there  are  fearful 
mutterings  beyond  the  mountains ;  and  the  tempestuous 
gale  howls ;  and,  coming  down,  sweeps  away  the  tree- 
top,  madly  dashing  that  dearest  little  family  of  hers  to 
the  deadly  earth ! 

Now,  in  the  agonies  of  despair,  she  flies  from  place  to 
place,  afflicted;  and  she  mourns  —  mourned,  as  we  now 
have  it,  the  dear  old  Eliot,  in  prospect,  thus  doomed, 
must  mourn. 

But  when  the  clouds  had  cleared  away,  and  when  time, 
that  great  healer  of  hearts  that  bleed,  had  brought  an- 
other lovely  day,  that  little  mother  dried  her  tears  (if 
tears  they  have),  and  she  turned  again  to  her  duteous 
labors,  bringing  sticks,  and  strings,  and  other  material 
things,  and  builds  aloft  another  habitation;  and  soon 
rears,  and  faithfully  takes  charge  of,  another  little  God- 
praising,  parent-loving  family. 

In  this  similitude,  I  briefly  foreshadow  that  part  of 
John  Eliot's  life,  which,  among  other  things,  coming  as 
lessons  from  his  exemplary  wife,  will  be  elaborated  in 
my  next  chapters. 


48  JOHN   ELIOT,   THE    APOSTLE. 

Still  there  is  a  cry  without  —  King  Philip  is  on  the 
war-path !  Murder !  murder  1  Sassamon  is  murdered  of 
Philip's  Indians !  The  terrible  trump  of  war,  afar,  is 
blowing  its  blast,  with  dread  alarms,  reverberating  all 
over  the  settlements ! 

Meanwhile,  the  three  Indian  murderers  —  Mattashu- 
nanamo,  Wam-pappaquam,  and  Tobias  —  arrested  by 
English  officers,  are  brought  into  court  at  Plymouth, 
to  be  tried  by  English  judges.*  The  judges  are  there, 
and  the  jury  is  there,  with  five  red  men  added  to  it, 
as  advisers,  or  as  a  mere  show  of  fairness ;  and  the 
Indian  prisoner,  above  named,  are  there,  standing, 
trembling,  doomed,  upon  an  indictment,  to  be  tried 
for  their  lives.  An  allegation  in  the  indictment  reads 
as  follows :  — 

"  For  that  being  accused,  that  they  did  with  joynt  consent 
vpon  the  29  of  January  anno  1674  att  a  place  called  Asso- 
wamset,  pond  wilfully  and  of  sett  purpose  and  of  malice  fore 
thought  and  by  force  and  armes  murder  John  Sassamon  another 
indian,  by  laying  violent  hands  on  him  and  striking  him,  or 
twisting  his  necke,  vntil  hee  was  dead;  and  to  hyde  and  conceale 
this  theire  said  murder  att  the  tyme  and  place  aforesaid  did  cast 
his  dead  body  through  a  hole  of  the  ice  into  the  said  pond." 

It  is  now  that  the  much-suspected,  much-feared  King 
Philip  enters  that  court ;  and,  denying  the  right  of  the 
English  to  try  his  own  Indian  subjects,  for  the  killing  of 
an  Indian,  promulgates  his  own  notions  of  law  and  right, 
in  language  purporting,  in  substance,  to  be  a  plea  to  their 
jurisdiction;  if  we  may  speak  in  poetic  form,  substan- 
tially thus :  — 

*  Hubbard,  Hist,  of  Indian  Wars,  pp.  80-82.    Hist  of  Natick,  pp.  29,  30. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE.  49 

What  right,  what  law,  these  prisoners  to  arraign, 

Have  Englishmen,  in  this,  ray  own  domain  ? 

What  lease  of  venue,  from  allotted  lines, 

To  make  invasions,  and  to  adjudge  of  crimes! 

Why  seek  the  Indian's  life,  in  guile  forlorn, 

Of  these  three  men,  of  native  mothers  born? 

Who  one  and  all,  with  Sassamon,  the  slain, 

Were  my  liege  subjects,  bound  by  laws  the  same, 

Which  governed  tribes  a  thousand  years  ago, 

But  which,  evaded,  brings  an  endless  woe. 

What  mind,  wtiat  project,  points  your  boundless  sway, 

But  hence  to  drive  the  red-man,  far  away 

From  this  fair  land,  his  birthright  and  his  wealth, 

And  hold  these  regions  vast,  through  royal  stealth ! 

With  flagrant  wrong,  the  tribes  will  ne'er  concur, 

And  to  your  bold  intrusion,  I  demur ! 

My  subjects  here,  an  English  court  may  try,  — 

By  spurious  judgments,  they  may  fall  and  die; 

Yet  vengeance,  dread,  shall  point  the  red-man's  steel, 

And  to  the  God  of  battles  I  '11  appeal ! 

Philip  withdrew,  and  ne'er  returned  again ; 

His  truthful  talk  was  uttered  but  in  vain ; 

The  prisoners  held,  and  thus  condemned  to  die, 

Brought  darkness,  gathering  o'er  this  western  sky ; 

The  bloody  sunset,  and  the  forked  light, 

That  broke  the  curtain  of  that  fearful  night, 

Awaking  English  matrons,  'mid  alarms, 

To  hug  sweet  infants  with  tenacious  arms, 

Foretold  gross  carnage  of  successive  years, 

And  devastations  in  a  land  of  tears. 

True  to  his  word  which  clanger  thus  defied, 

Philip  the  pilgrims  fought,  and  fighting  died ; 

With  countless  victims  by  the  self-same  blade 

Which  mutual  madness  had  In  folly  made.* 

*  Prom  my  Epics,  Lyrics,  and  Ballads,  p.  344. 
7 


CHAPTER   III. 

IN  the  foregoing  chapters  we  have  spoken  of  the  les- 
sons which  ought  to  be  learned  from  John  Eliot's  life 
and  character  ;  have  alluded  to  his  birth  in  England,  to 
his  education  there,  and  to  his  arrival  at  Boston  in  the 
month  of  November,  1631 ;  and  in  the  narration  have 
told  of  his  former  friends  landing  here  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  settling  at  Roxbury ;  how  he  then  and 
there  became  their  pastor,  and  remained  their  minister 
to  the  end  of  his  long  life  ;  how,  for  the  first  fifteen 
years,  he  preached  solely  to  the  white-man ;  how,  during 
that  time,  he  was  educating  Indian  boys  to  the  English 
language,  and  white  men's  boys  to  the  Indian  language ; 
and  how,  in  the  same  period,  he  had  prepared  many 
young  men  for  the  ministry,  that  they  might,  in  the 
Indian  dialect,  preach  to  the  tribes  of  the  wilderness  ; 
and  how,  at  the  same  time,  he  had  begun  to  make  our 
English  Bible  speak  the  Indian  language.  And  when  he 
had  prepared  his  young  ministry  to  follow  him  in  suc- 
cession to  the  apostolic  work,  he  then,  Oct.  20,  1646, 
amid  the  Indian  wigwams  in  the  wilderness,  preached  his 
first  sermon  to  the  assembled  tribes  at  Nonantura.  How 
Natick  was  obtained  of  the  government,  for  the  organ- 
ization of  an  Indian  town ;  how  it  was  officered  by 
Indians,  who  administered  the  government  of  it,  as 
Christian -citizens,  for  nearly  a  century.  How  our  apostle, 


JOHN   ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  61 

from  the  first,  advanced  as  a  leader,  a  law-giver,  and  as 
an  evangelist ;  how  he  wrote  up  his  "  Christian  Common- 
wealth,"  favoring  a  republican  government  under  the 
great  Protector,  Oliver  Cromwell ;  how  Cromwell,  then 
dying  (1658),  and  before  the  book  effectually  issued 
from  the  press,  Eliot,  at  the  frown  of  the  king,  and  at 
the  command  of  our  colonial  government,  suppressed  it, 
and  thus  saving  his  mission,  and  perhaps  his  own  head, 
he  appeased  the  wrath  of  Charles  the  Second,  who  had 
then  been  crowned  king  of  the  reinstated  kingdom 
under  which  our  fathers  lived.  His  two  letters  to  the 
king,  the  one  written  in  1661,  and  the  other  in  1663,  are 
given  below. 

To  the  High  and  Mighty  Prince  Charles  the  Second,  by  the  Grace 
of  God,  King  of  England,  Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  De- 
fender of  the  Faith,  &c.,  the  Commissioners  of  United  Colo- 
nies in  New  England  with  increase  of  all  happiness,  &c. 
MOST  DREAD  SOVEREIGN:  — 

If  our  weak  apprehensions  have  not  misled  us,  this  work  will 
be  no  unacceptable  present  to  your  Majesty  as  having  a  greater 
interest  therein,  than  we  believe  is  generally  understood,  which 
(upon  this  occasion)  we  deem  it  our  duty  to  declare. 

The  people  of  these  four  Colonies  (confederated  for  mutual 
defence  in  the  time  of  the  late  distractions  of  our  dear  native 
country)  your  Majesty's  natural  born  subjects,  by  the  favor  and 
grant  of  your  father  and  grandfather,  of  famous  memory,  put 
themselves  upon  this  great  and  hazardous  undertaking,  of  plant- 
ing themselves  at  their  own  charge  in  these  remote  ends  of  the 
earth,  that,  without  offence  and  provocation  to  our  Brethren, 
and  Countrymen,  we  might  enjoy  that  liberty  to  worship  God, 
which  our  consciences  informed  us  was  not  only  our  right,  but 
duty ;  as  also  that  we  might  (if  it  so  pleased  God)  be  instrumental 
vo  spread  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 


52  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE. 

God,  our  Saviour,  to  the  poor  barbarous  heathen,  which  by  his 
late  Majesty,  iu  some  of  our  Patents,  is  declared  to  be  his  prin- 
cipal aim. 

These  honest  and  pious  intentions  have,  through  the  grace 
and  goodness  of  God,  and  our  kings,  been  seconded  with  propor- 
tionable success ; 

That  other  part  of  our  errand  hither  hath  been  attended 
with  endeavors  and  blessing,  many  of  the  wild  Indians  being 
taught,  and  understanding  the  doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  with  much  affection  attending  such  preachers  as  are  sent  to 
teach  them,  many  of  their  children  are  instructed  to  write  vand 
read,  and  some  of  them  have  proceeded  further,  to  attain  the 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  tongues,  and  are  brought  up 
with  our  English  youths  in  University  learning  There  are  di- 
vers of  them  that  can,  and  do  read  some  parts  of  the  Scripture, 
and  some  catechisms  which  formerly  have  been  translated  into 
their  own  language,  which  hath  occasioned  the  undertaking  of 
a  greater  work,  viz.,  the  printing  of  the  whole  Bible,  which 
(being  translated  by  a  painful  labor  amongst  them,  who  was 
desirous  to  see  the  work  accomplished  in  his  day)  hath  already 
proceeded  to  finishing  the  New  Testament,  which  we  here 
humbly  present  to  your  Majesty,  as  the  first  fruits  and  accom- 
plishments of  the  pious  design  of  your  royal  ancestors. 

"  Sir: — The  shines  of  your  royal  favor  upon  these  undertak- 
ings, will  make  these  undertakings  to  flourish,  notwithstanding 
any  malevolent  aspect  from  those  that  bear  evil  will  to  this  Lion, 
and  render  Your  Majesty  more  illustrious  and  glorious  to  after 
generations. 

The  God  of  heaven  long  preserve  and  bless  Your  Majesty  with 
many  happy  days,  to  his  glory,  —  the  good  and  comfort  of  his 
Church  and  people.  —  Amen." 

LETTEK  II. 
MOST  DREAD  SOVEREIGN:  — 

As  our  former  presentation  of  the  New  Testament  was  graci- 
ously accepted  by  your  Majesty,  so  wilh  all  humble  thankfulness 
for  that  royal  favor,  and  with  the  like  hope,  we  are  bold  now  to 


JOHN  ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  53 

present  the  whole  Bible,  translated  into  the  language  of  the 
natives  of  this  country,  by  a  painful  laborer  in  that  work,  and 
now  printed  and  finished,  by  means  of  the  pious  beneficence  of 
Your  Majesty's  subjects  in  England;  which  also  by  your  special 
favor  hath  been  continued  and  confirmed,  to  the  intended  use 
and  advancement  of  so  great  and  good  a  work  as  is  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel  to  these  poor  barbarians  in  this  (erevvhile) 
unknown  world. 

Translations  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,— the  Word  of  the  King 
of  kings,  —  have  ever  been  deemed  not  unworthy  of  the  most 
princely  dedications;  examples  whereof  are  extant  in  divers 
languages.  But  your  Majesty  is  the  first  which  hath  received 
one  in  this  language,  or  from  the  American  world,  or  from  any 
parts  so  remote  from  Europe  as  these  are,  for  aught  that  ever 
we  heard  of. 

Publication  also  of  these  sacred  writings  to  the  sons  of  men 
(who  here,  and  here  only,  have  the  ministers  of  their  eternal 
salvation  revealed  to  them  by  the  God  of  heaven)  is  a  work  that 
the  greatest  princes  have  honored  themselves  by. 

But,  to  publish  and  communicate  the  same  to  a  lost  people,  as 
remote  from  knowledge  and  civility,  much  more  from  Christi- 
anity, as  they  were  from  all  showing,  civil  and  Christian 
nations,  — a  people  without  law,  without  letters,  without  riches, 
or  means  to  procure  any  such  thing,  —  a  people  that  sat  as  deep 
in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death  as  (we  think)  any  since 
the  creation.  This  puts  a  lustre  upon  it  that  is  superlative,  and 
to  have  given  royal  patronage  and  countenance  to  such  a  publi- 
cation, or  to  the  means  thereof,  will  stand  among  the  marks  of 
lasting  honor  in  the  eyes  of  all  that  are  considerate,  even  unto 
after  generations. 

And,  though  there  be  in  this  Western  world  many  Colonies  of 
other  European  nations,  yet  we  humbly  conceive,  no  prince  has 
had  a  return  of  such  a  work  as  this ;  which  may  be  some  token 
of  the  success  of  your  Majesty's  plantation  of  New  England, 
undertaken  and  settled  under  the  encouragement  and  security  of 
your  royal  father  and  grandfather,  of  famous  memory,  and  cher- 
ished with  like  gracious  aspects  from  your  Majesty. 


54  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Though  indeed  the  present  Poverty  of  these  plantations  could 
not  have  accomplished  this  work  had  not  the  forementioned 
Bounty  of  England  lent  Relief;  nor  could  that  have  continued 
to  stand  us  in  stead,  without  the  Influence  of  Your  Royal  Favor 
and  Authority,  whereby  the  Corporation  there  for  Propagating 
the  Gospel  among  these  Natives  hath  been  established  and  en- 
couraged, (whose  Labor  of  Love,  Care  and  Faithfulness  in  that 
Trust,  must  ever  be  remembered  with  Honor;)  yea,  when 
private  persons,  for  their  private  Ends,  have  of  late  sought  Ad- 
vantages to  deprive  the  said  Corporation  of  Half  the  Possessions 
that  had  been  by  Liberal  Contributions,  obtained  for  so  Religi- 
ous Ends.  We  understand  that,  by  an  Honorable  and  Righteous 
Decision  in  your  Majesty's  Court  of  Chancery,  their  Hopes 
have  been  defeated,  and  the  Thing  settled  where  it  was  and  is ; 
for  which  great  favor  and  illustrious  fruit  of  Your  Majesty's 
Government  we  cannot  but  return  our  most  humble  thanks  in 
this  Public  manner;  and  as  the  result  of  the  joint  Endeavors  of 
Your  Majesty's  subjects,  there  and  here,  acting  under  your 
Royal  Influence,  We  present  You  with  this  work,  which  upon 
sundry  accounts  is  to  be  called  yours. 

Religion  is  the  End  and  Glory  of  mankind,  and  as  it  was  the 
professed  End  of  this  Plantation,  so  we  design  ever  to  keep  it 
in  our  eye  as  our  main  design,  (both  to  ourselves  and  the  natives 
about  us,)  and  that  our  products  may  be  answerable  thereunto. 
Give  us  therefore  leave,  (Dread  Sovereign)  yet  again  humbly  to 
beg  the  continuance  of  your  Royal  Favor,  and  of  the  Influences 
thereof,  upon  this  poor  plantation,  The  United  Colonies  of  New 
England,  for  the  securing  and  establishment  of  our  Civil  Privi- 
leges and  Religious  Liberties  hitherto  enjoyed;  and  upon  this 
Good  Work  of  Propagating  Religion  to  these  Natives,  that  the 
Supports  and  Encouragements  thereof  from  England  may  be 
still  countenanced  and  confirmed. 

May  this  Nursling  still  suck  the  Breast  of  Kings,  and  be  fos- 
tered by  your  Majesty,  as  it  hath  been  by  your  Royal  Predeces- 
sors, unto  the  preservation  of  its  Main  Concernments.  It  shall 
thrive  and  prosper  to  the  Glory  of  God  and  the  Honor  of  your 
Majesty.  Neither  will  it  be  any  loss  or  grief  unto  our  Lord  the 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  55 

King,  to  have  the  blessing  of  the  Poor  to  come  upon  Him,  and 
that  from  these  Ends  of  the  Earth. 

The  God  by  whom  Kings  Reign  and  Princes  Decree  Justice, 
Bless  Your  Majesty  and  establish  your  Throne  in  Righteousness, 
in  Mercy  and  in  Truth,  to  the  Glory  of  His  Name,  the  Good  of 
His  People,  and  to  your  own  Comfort  and  Rejoicing,  not  in  this 
only  but  in  another  World." 

PROGRESS. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  New  England  landscape  as 
seen  in  1631 ;  of  the  location  of  the  various  Indian  nations, 
then  roaming  upon  it,  wild  hunters  of  the  wilderness. 
We  come  now  to  speak  more  particularly  of  Eliot's 
perseverance  and  progress  in  the  fourteen  Indian  towns, 
of  his  care,  and  of  his  3,600  praying  Indians,  up  to  1674, 
when  the  tearful  terrors  of  Philip's  war  began  to  becloud 
New  England,  bringing  dread  dismay  to  the  souls  of  men, 
women,  and  children.  How  previously,  in  1648,  the 
four  colonies  heedlessly,  and  perhaps  unintentionally, 
retarded  Eliot's  mission  of  love,  by  permitting  the  use 
of  carnal  weapons,  with  all  their  appalling  consequences, 
as  against  Christianity;  and  by  giving  their  unjust 
assent  to  the  same,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  murder  of  that 
life-long  Englishman's  friend,  the  brave  old  Miantonimo.* 
Thus  many  instances  of  cruelty  and  of  crime  came  like 
clouds,  floating  in,  polluting  the  atmosphere,  all  tend- 
ing to  hedge  up  Eliot's  highway  to  civilization  and 
Christianity. 

Yet  in  spite  of  these  terrible  happenings ;  in  spite  of 
all  the  carnal  outrages  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other, 
—  of  war,  of  conflagration,  of  skirmishes,  and  murders 

*  My  Duston,  and  New  England  Wars,  pp.  160-169. 


56  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

in  the  midst  of  his  people,  Eliot's  mission  of  love  had 
prospered  all  the  way  through.  Up  to  1674,  he  had 
made  constant,  fruitful  progress. 

His  CARE  FOR  SCHOOLS. 

From  the  first,  Eliot  had  evinced  uncommon  interest 
towards  the  rising  generations.  Cotton  Mather  bears 
testimony  to  his  strong  force  in  that  direction. 

At  one  of  the  synods  held  in  Boston,  Mather  says: 
"I  heard  Eliot  pray:  'Lord!  for  schools  everywhere 
among  us ;  *  that  our  schools  may  nourish ;  that  every 
member  of  this  assembly  may  go  home,  to  procure  a 
good  school  to  be  encouraged,  in  the  town  where  he 
lives ;  that  before  we  die,  we  may  all  be  happy  to  see  a 
good  school  established  in  every  part  of  the  country.' " 

INDIAN  SCHOOLS. 

So  it  was,  by  his  resistless  force  of  character,  as  time 
advanced,  an  Indian  college  at  Cambridge,  being  erected, 
was  supplied  with  students  for  the  ministry ;  and  thus 
his  disciples,  both  red  and  white,  were  schooled  to  be  his 
successors  in  the  vast  undertaking  of  evangelizing  the 
red-men  of  New  England.  Up  to  1674,  Eliot's  mission 
had  advanced,  and  his  progress  had  been  favored, 
apparently,  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church. 

RULERS  AND  MINISTERS. 

Many  assistants,  as  well  as  successors,  were  needful  to  his 
mission.  Proceeding  to  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into 

*  Memoirs  of  Eliot,  p.  74.    Adams'  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  51. 


JOHN  ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  57 

the  Indian  tongue,  scholars,  well  tutored  in  the  languages, 
both  Indian  and  English,  had  become  a  necessity.  Hence, 
many  had  been  raised  up  as  volunteers,  to  enter  his  field 
of  progress,  as  teachers,  as  rulers,  as  printers,  as  trans- 
lators, and  as  ministers,  to  supply  the  various  towns 
where  the  Apostle  had  established  churches,  or  Indian 
preaching  stations. 

In  all  this,  as  we  have  seen,  Eliot  had  been  encouraged 
by  the  aid  of  "  a  Society  "  in  the  old  world,  organized 
there,  "  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New  Eng- 
land " ;  and  by  Cromwell,  by  the  Colonial  government 
here,  and  otherwise.  For  in  his  pastorate  at  Roxbury, 
where  he  preached  but  once  in  two  weeks  generally,  the 
remainder  of  his  time  being  devoted  to  his  books,  and  to 
the  various  tribes,  as  they  gave  him  gospel  gatherings,  in 
the  wilderness  or  near  the  sea-shore,  he  was  sustained  by 
a  constant  salary  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

CONFERENCE  OF  SAGAMORES. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1651,  having  called  together, 
from  all  quarters,  the  many  sachems  and  sagamores,  and 
their  attendants,  of  New  England,  he  held  a  discourse 
with  them,  on  the  subject  of  religions  worship,  and  of 
carrying  his  great  undertaking  into  effect. 

On  that  occasion,  they  were  induced  to  subscribe  to  a 
general  approval  of  his  purpose,  and  among  other  things, 
they  made  choice  of  rulers,  as  follows:  one  ruler  for  an 
hundred  men ;  two  rulers  of  fifty  each ;  ten  rulers  of 
ten  men  each.* 

*  Drake's  American  Indians,  B.  II,  p.  113.    Mather's  Magnalia,  B.  Ill,  p. 
612.    Memoirs  of  Eliot,  p.  67.    Life  of  Eliot,  pp.  117, 118. 
8 


58  JOHN   ELIOT,   THE  APOSTLK. 

Before  the  adjournment,  they  signed  Eliot's  covenants, 
and  endorsed  their  consent  generally  to  the  days  of 
fasting  and  prayer,  which,  on  that  occasion,  had  been 
appointed. 

THE  COVENANT 

which  the  Indians  had  signed,  though  somewhat  long, 
was  to  the  point.    It  began,  and  ended,  thus :  — 

"We  are  the  sons  of  Adam.  We  and  our  Fathers  have 
a  long  time  been  lost  in  our  sins;  but  now  the  mercy 
of  the  Lord  begins  to  find  us  out  again.  .  .  .  Oh ! 
Jehovah,  teach  us  wisdom  in  thy  Scriptures!  Let  the 
grace  of  Christ  help  us,  because  Christ  is  the  wisdom  of 
God.  Send  thy  spirit  into  our  hearts,  and  let  it  teach 
us!  Take  us  to  be  thy  people — and  let  us  take  Thee  to 
be  our  God!"* 

CHURCH  AT  NATICK. 

In  the  year  1661,  Eliot's  first  Indian  church  was  organ- 
ized, it  being  a  day  of  baptisms.  At  this  date  he  had 
completed  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament.  In 
1663  he  had  also  completed  the  printing  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  the  Indian  language.  At  this,  it  is  said, 
the  commissioners  of  the  four  colonies  were  greatly 
pleased. 

He  then  proceeded  to  the  translation  of  the  Psalter ; 
and  then  to  the  "  Practice  of  Piety,"  which,  being  printed 
in  the  Indian  language,  became  popular  among  the  tribes, 
who  took  several  editions  of  it  in  the  years  1665  and 
1667,  and  up  to  1687. 

*  Memoirs  of  Eliot,  ch.  13,  pp.  83,  84. 


JOHN   ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  59 

In  1666,  Mr.  Eliot  had  established  a  lecture  station  at 
Natick,  his  first  Indian  town;  and  about  the  same  time, 
making  proclamation,  he  called  together  a  multitude  of 
Indians  at  Alarshpee.  There  he  took  from  them  con- 
fessions of  their  Christian  knowledge,  faith,  and  practice. 
Afterwards  (Aug.  17,  1670),  Mr.  Bourne  was  ordained 
over  the  native  church  at  Natick. 

PEACE. 

In  the  year  1671,*  the  settlers  in  Plymouth  colony 
were  threatening  to  make  war  against  a  neighboring 
tribe,  the  Missokonog  Indians.  Eliot  hearing  of  this, 
and  trembling  for  the  safety  of  his  Indian  churches,  at 
once  dispatched  a  committee  to  proceed  to  that  place  of 
danger,  as  mediators,  with  instructions  (from  Eliot)  as 
follows:  — 

We,  the  poor  church  at  Natick,  hearing  that  the 
honored  Rulers,  and  good  People  of  Plymouth,  are 
pressing,  and  arming  soldiers  to  go  to  war  .igainst  the 
Mis-so-konog  Indians,  for  what  cause  we  know  not. 
Though  they  pray  not  to  God,  we  hope  they  will !  And 
we  do  mourn,  and  pray  for  them,  and  desire  greatly  that 
they  may  not  be  destroyed.  Especially  because  we  have 
not  heard  that  they  have  done  anything  worthy  of 
death. 

Therefore  we  do  send  these  two  brethren,  Anthony 
and  William,  who  were  formerly  our  messengers  to 
those  parts ;  —  and  we  request  John  Sassamonf  to  join 
them  — 


*  Bacon's  History  cf  Xatick,  pp.  24-S6. 

t  Sassamon  was  afterwards  slain.  —  Drake,  B.  IH,  p.  9. 


60  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

And  this  trust  we  commit  unto  you,  our  dear 
brethren  and  beloved  — 

First,  to  go  to  the  misso-konog  Indians,  or  who  else 
may  be  concerned,  in  the  quarrel;  —  tell  them  the  poor 
churches  in  Natick,  send  them  two  Scriptures. 

When  thou  comest  nigh  unto  a  city  to  fight  against 
it,  then  proclaim  peace  unto  it. 

And  it  shall  be,  if  it  make  thee  answer  of  peace, 
and  open  unto  thee,  then  it  shall  be,  that  all  the  people 
that  is  found  therein  shall  be  tributaries  unto  thee,  and 
they  shall  serve  thee.' 

*  Dare  any  of  you,  having  a  matter  against  another, 
go  to  law  before  the  unjust,  and  not  before  the  saints  ? 

"'Do  ye  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the 
world  ?  and  if  the  world  shall  be  judged  by  you,  arc  ye 
unworthy  to  judge  the  smallest  matters  ? 

"'Know  ye  not  that  we  shall  judge  angels?  How 
much  more  things  that  pertain  to  this  life  ? 

"  *  If  then  ye  have  judgments  of  things  pertaining  to 
this  life,  set  them  to  judge  who  are  least  esteemed  in 
the  church. 

"  '  I  speak  to  your  shame.  Is  it  so,  that  there  is  not  a 
wise  man  among  you?  no,  not  one  that  shall  be  able  to 
judge  between  his  brethren? 

" '  But  brother  goeth  to  law  with  brother,  and  that 
before  the  unbelievers.'  f 

"If  they  of  Missokonog  accept  this  our  exhortation, 
tell  them,  that  the  Church,  also,  have  sent  you  to  the 
Governor;  —  tell  him  that  the  Church  hath  sent  you  to 
be  mediators  of  peace;  —  on  behalf  of  the  Missokonog 
Indians,  or  any  other  of  their  neighbors  —  ... 

*  Deut.  xx,  10, 11.  f  1  Cor.  vi,  1-6. 


JOHN  ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  61 

"Nay,— beseech  them  all,  to  consider,  what  comfort  it 
will  be,  to  Ml,  or  to  be  killed,  — when  no  capital  sin  hath 
been  committed,  or  defended  by  them  — 

"And  we  request  you,  our  beloved  brethren,  to  be 
speedy,  in  your  motions.  We  shall  endeavor  to  follow 
you  in  our  prayers  ;  —  and  shall  long  to  hear  of  a  happy 
peace,  —  that  may  open  a  clear  door  for  the  passage  of 
the  gospel  among  the  people. 

"Thus,  commending  you  to  God,  in  prayer,  —  we  do 
send  you  forth,  upon  this  great  service  of  peace-making, 
which  is  evidently  the  flower  and  glory  of  Christ's 
kingdom." 

(Signed)  JOHN  ELIOT, 

with  the  consent  \ 
NATICK,  Aug.  1,  1671.  of  the  Church.   / 

INDIAN  STATIONS. 

About  this  time,  the  Apostle  had  towns  of  Christian 
Indians  as  follows :  — 

Natick,  his  first  town,  had  in  it  some  29  families,  and 
145  inhabitants,  occupying  6,000  acres  .of  land.  Here, 
as  perhaps  in  other  localities,  the  Indian  people  on  the 
Lord's  days,  and  on  other  lecture  days,  were  called 
together  at  the  sound  of  a  drum. 

Pekemit  (Stoughton),  then  reckoned  -to  be  14  miles 
south  of  Boston,  contained  12  families,  and  GO  Indians, 
occupying  6,000  acres  of  land. 

Ilas-sa-namesit  (Grafton)  had  a  church  organized  in 
1671.  About  30  of  the  natives  had  been  baptized.  It 
is  said,  in  general,  they  all  sustained  the  Sabbath,  and 
church-worship,  in  a  becoming  manner. 

Okom-ma-kemesit  (Marlboro'),  then  30  miles  west  of 


t>2  JOHN    ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Boston,  had  10  native  families,  cultivated  6,000  acres  of 
soil,  with  orchards  planted  by  Indians.  Solomon  was 
their  teacher. 

Nashobah  (Littleton),  then  25  miles  west-northwest 
from  Boston,  contained  10  Indian  families  and  50  souls, 
ho'ding  lands  4  miles  square.  John  Thomas  was  their 
teacher. 

Wagum-qua-cogr,  situated  between  Natick  and  Grafton, 
had  11  native  families  and  55  inhabitants,  who,  as 
appears, "  worshipped  God,  kept  the  Sabbath,  and  adhered 
to  the  duties  of  civil  order."  Job  was  their  teacher. 

Pentucket  (or  Tewksbury),  situated  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Merrimac  and  Concord  Rivers,  contained  2,500 
acres,  had  15  Indian  families,  and  75  souls.* 

Numphow  lived  here,  as  their  ruler,  and  his  son  Samuel 
(named  by  the  English)  served  his  father  here,  as  an 
assistant  teacher.  They  had  been  educated  at  the 
expense  of  that  society  in  England  of  which  we  have 
spoken. 

This  being  a  favorable  fishing  station,  the  tribes  at 
certain  seasons,  from  various  quarters,  often  congregated 
here. 

Eliot  had  sometimes  preached  at  Pawtucket  Falls 
during  the  long  life-time  of  JPassnconawiiy  f  This  ven- 
erable sachem  was  generally  present  to  hear  the  sermon, 
to  which  he  and  his  tribes  usually  listened  attentively. 

One  day  at  the  Falls,  after  the  sermon,  tho  Indians 
propounded  to  the  Apostle  many  questions. 

At  one  time  (1648)  the  old  chief,  who  probably  had 
seen,  upon  these  hill-sides,  the  frosts  of  an  hundred 

*  Memoirs  of  Eliot,  pp.  101,  103, 140. 

t  Drake's  American  Indians,  B.  Ill,  pp.  93, 94. 


JOHN   ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  63 

winters,  rose  up  at  the  close  of  the  service,  and  publicly 
announced  his  belief  in  the  Englishman's  God.  Among 
other  thing-!,  Eliot  himself  speaks  of  him  thus:  — 

"  He  said  he  never  heard  of  God  before  as  he  now 
doth;  that  he  would  consider  the  matter,  —  and  would 
persuade  his  two  sons  [then  present]  to  do  the  same." 

THE  TEXT 

(Malachi  5, 11),  translated  for  the  occasion,  was  as  follows: 
"  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  of  the 
same,  my  name  shall  be  great  among  the  '  Indians ' ;  and 
in  every  place,  prayers  shall  be  made  unto  my  name ;  and 
a  pure  'prayer';  —  for  my  name  shall  be  great,  among 
the  'Indians'  (saith  the  Lord  'of  hosts')."* 

AT  WAMESIT  AGAIN. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1674,  Eliot  comes  once  again,  to 
meet  the  assembled  tribes,  —  Major-General  Gookin  at- 
tending the  Apostle,  —  and  holds  a  court  here.  They 
were  together  when  they  came,  and  when  they  went 
away. 

Public  notice  had  been  given  for  the  convention  of 
the  tribes,  held  at  that  time,  where  the  Eliot  Church,  in 
Lowell,  now  stands.  Gathering  in,  they  filled  up  the 
space-way  between  the  wigwams  on  that  hill-side,  to 
hear  the  Apostle,  — all  curious,  all  anxious. 

At  that  time,  the  dark  cloud,  which  had  begun  to 
overshadow  New  England,  portending  war,  brought 
dread  fear  to  all.  This  must  have  quickened  the  foot- 
step of  the  Christian  red-man,  as  he  came  in  with  his 

*  Francis'  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  107. 


64  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

squaw  and  little  ones,  coming,  as  they  did,  from  Amos- 
keag  and  other  places,  that  they  might  learn  lessons,  and 
be  encouraged  by  that  great  and  good  man,  the  Apostle! 
Thus,  now,  the  many  tribes  are  here;  Numphow  is 
here ;  Samuel  and  Wonalancet  are  here ;  and  Gookin  is 
here.  The  sun  has  gone  down  beyond  the  Wachusette 
hills ;  the  shades  of  night  are  spread  out  in  the  skies ; 
the  din  of  Pawtucket  Falls  is  audible ;  and  beneath  the 
stars  of  heaven,  as  they  seem  to  gaze  down  approvingly, 
the  voice  of  the  Evangelist,  like  the  voice  of  a  God,  falls 
in  upon  the  assembled  tribes,  at  Wamesit,  for  the  last, 
last  time.* 

WONALANCET. 

He,  then  about  fifty  years  of  age,  being  present,  was 
seriously  impressed  among  others  ;  and  rising  up  at  the 
close  of  the  discourse,  addressed  Eliot  and  Gookin 
thus : — 

"Sirs,  you  have  been  pleased  for  four  years,  in  your 
abundant  love,  to  apply  yourselves  particularly  unto  me 
and  my  people ;  to  exhort,  press,  and  persuade  us  to 
pray  (to  God).  I  am  thankful  to  you  for  your  pains.  I 
must  acknowledge,  have  all  my  days  been  used  to  pass 
in  an  old  canoe ;  and  you  exhort  me  to  change  that  old 
canoe,  to  which  I  have  hitherto  been  unwilling.  But 
now,  I  yield  to  your  advice."  f 

He  was  a  son  of  Passaconaway.  The  father,  at  the 
age  of  more  than  a  century  (as  recorded),  had  gone 
hence.  The  son  succeeding  him,  as  chief  sachem  of  the 
Penacooks,  including  the  Wamesits,  had  spread  his 

*  Text,  Matt,  xxii,  1-14.  f  Memoirs  of  Eliot,  p.  103. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  65 

wigwam  tent  here,  —  and  here,  upon  our  beautiful  Fort 
Hill,  had  erected  his  fortification,  as  we  have  seen.  This 
was  at  about  the  beginning  of  dread  hostilities,  —  during 
which,  being  a  peace-maker,  Wonalancet  fled  away  with 
many  of  his  men ;  but  returned,  when  he  had  reason  to 
believe  the  conflict  had  come  to  an  end.  At  length 
(1G77),  disgusted  with  the  repeated,  unprovoked  ill- 
treatment  of  some  of  the  settlers  towards  him  and  his 
kindred  race,  he,  after  selling  out  all  his  lands,  finally 
wandered  away  into  Canada,  leaving  his  native  hills, — 
and  never,  never  returned.* 

ELIOT'S  PROGRESS. 

In  1674,  and  up  to  that  time,  although  terrible  difficul- 
ties had  intervened,  yet  Zion,  even  in  a  wilderness  of 
many  conflicts,  as  appears,  had  made  progress.  But 
now,  through  the  threatenings  of  King  Philip,  under  the 
many  outrages  of  individual  settlers,  a  terrible  war  is  at 
hand. 

The  very  elements  are  angry,  and  the  mattering  thun- 
ders of  war  are  everywhere  breaking  in  against  Eliot's 
mission,  and  against  the  Christian  civilization  of  tho 
New  England  tribes. 

The  top  of  Zion's  tree,  so  to  speak,  on  which  Eliot's 
Indian  churches  hang,  is  now  beginning  to  be  tossed  by 
the  tempest ;  the  tornado  gathers  blackness,  and  the  light- 
nings, followed  by  thunderbolts,  are  shooting  down  from 
the  skies,  chilling  the  blood  of  mortals,  and,  in  spite  of 
the  Apostle  and  his  peaceful  Christians,  distracting  the 
populace,  and  turning  their  God-given  love  into  mad- 

*  Drake's  His.,  B.  Ill,  pp.  95-97. 
9 


66  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE. 

ness,  cruelty,  and  blood.  Beneath  its  blackness  are  the 
fagot  and  the  tomahawk,  with  all  their  nightly  and  morn- 
ing horrors.  Indeed,  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other, 
it  is  known  to  be  a  war  of  extermination,  —  a  war,  not 
based  upon  the  overwhelming  power  of  Christian  love, 
but  upon  the  madness  of  brute  force,  wielding  the  blood- 
stained weapons  of  demons,  —  a  war  in  which  the  peace- 
ful Christian  Indian  will  not  be  allowed  to  stand  neutral; 
but  is  to  be  compelled  to  take  up  arms  agninst  his  own 
kindred  race,  or  be  manacled,  imprisoned,  or  slain  by  the 
white  man ;  and  a  war  in  which  the  Bible,  the  Psalter, 
and  the  Prayer-book  are  to  be  laid  aside,  giving  place  to 
the  deadly  carnal  weapon. 
To  all  this,  Eliot,  in  the  agonies  of  his  heart,  demurred. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE  ALTERNATIVE. 

So  it  was ;  every  neutral  Indian,  by  the  colonial  gov- 
ernment, was  branded  as  an  enemy,  however  pure  in 
thought  or  deed,  or  circumspect  in  life,  he  might  be. 

Under  this  pressure,  some  of  the  natives,  not  being 
willing  to  allow  their  own  kindred  people  to  be  de- 
stroyed, fled  into  the  ranks  of  King  Philip;  some  of 
them  took  up  arms  for  the  English ;  some  of  them,  like 
Wonalancet,  seeking  peace,  wandered  away  into  the 
dense  wilderness  afar  off ;  *  while  Eliot's  non-resistant, 
Christian  red-men  were  seized,  as  at  Natick,  manacled, 
and  boated  down  Charles  River,  and  were  held  at  Deer 
Island  as  prisoners  of  war.f 

JAMES  THE  PRINTER. 

In  sight  of  the  dread  alternative  thus  offered,  in  which 
Eliot's  Indians  were  doomed  to  take  sides,  James,  although 
always  heretofore  faithful  to  the  white  man,  now  turning, 
fled  away,  and  joined  his  kindred  nationality.  He  served 
under  King  Philip,  and  was  found  with  Philip's  forces 
in  the  invasion  of  Lancaster,  which  captured  Mrs. 


*  Dearborn's  Sketch  of  Eliot's  Life,  p.  15. 
t  Francis'  Life  of  Eliot,  pp.  277, 278. 


68  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Rowlandson,  and  held  her  for  some  months  in  captivity.* 
James  had  a  desire,  it  seems,  to  save  his  race  from 
the  extermination  then  impending;  yet  remembering, 
as  he  must,  the  many  good  things  which  he  had  learned 
from  the  Apostle,  redeemed  himself  in  favoring  the 
redemption  of  Mrs.  Rowlandson  from  her  captivity  as 
follows.  Long  had  this  pious  lady  sought  redemption, 
after  extreme  abuse,  privation,  and  sorrow,  but  in  vain. 
Being  a  clergyman's  wife,  a  great  price  for  her  release 
was  demanded. 

One  day,  Mr.  Hoar,  with  others  from  Boston,  by 
permission  entered  King  Philip's  wigwam  camp  in  the 
forest,  to  obtain  this  lady  from  captivity,  and  offering  to 
Quinnopin,  her  master,  an  hundred  dollars.  lie  refused 
to  give  her  up.  The  savage  said  it  was  not  enough,  and 
persisted  in  the  refusal.  It  was  all  the  money;  and 
Mrs.  Rowlandson  is  seen  weeping,  in  a  distracted, 
hopeless  condition.  James  the  Printer,  seeing  this,  and 
his  Christianized  heart  touched  by  the  incident,  ap- 
proaching Mr.  Hoar,  said,  "Go  again  to  Quinnopin  [her 
master] ;  offer  him  the  hundred  dollars  again,  and  give 
him  a  pint  of  rum."  His  suggestion  was  obeyed ;  the 
money,  with  the  rum,  was  accepted ;  and  the  oppressed 
captive  was  set  free. 

Soon  afterwards  this  lady  went  forth  with  her  revered 
husband,  both  as  missionaries  in  New  England  preach- 
ing the  gospel,  until  he  was  slain  by  the  tribes ;  and  then 
Mrs.  Rowlandson  prepared  and  published  her  popular 
book  often  found  in  our  Sabbath  schools,  in  which  she 
gives  many  a  startling  incident  of  her  captivity. 

*  Drake's  American  Indians,  B.  II,  pp.  50, 51. 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE.  69 

JOB  NESUTAN.* 

Nesutan,  another  of  Eliot's  disciples,  when  the  dread 
alternative  came,  taking  sides  in  the  use  of  carnal 
weapons,  elected  to  turn  into  the  fight  in  behalf  of  the 
English.  Job  had  been  long  with  James  the  Printer  in 
Eliot's  service ;  was  a  good  linguist  in  the  English 
tongue,  had  worked  on  the  Bible  and  other  books 
as  a  printer  in  the  Indian  language.  In  war  he  proved  a 
valiant  soldier,  and  fell  in  the  fight  during  the  first 
expedition  at  Mount  Hope. 

OLD  JETHRO. 

This  pious  Indian  preacher  had  labored  in  the  vine- 
yard under  Eliot  and  Gookin  at  Lancaster  and  other 
places,  and  had  been  long  in  the  service.  But,  sad  for 
him,  when  the  dread  alternative  of  the  contest  offered 
itself,  he  was  found  on  the  side  of  his  own  kindred 
and  countrymen.  This  was  the  extent  of  his  crime ; 
yet  the  last  his  Christian  brethren  saw  of  him,  he  was  in 
the  hands  of  desperadoes  on  the  briery  pathway  to 
Boston,  with  a  rope  about  his  neck,  to  be  hanged.f  And 
the  Christian  "cry"  of  Old  Jethro  was  heard  no  more 
"in  the  wilderness." 

Thus  it  was  that  numerous  desperadoes  could  have 
their  own  way,  when  carnal  weapons  had  obtained  the 
ascendency,  encouraged,  as  they  were,  by  the  barbarous 
examples  of  cruelty  and  torture  which  had  long  lived 
to  disgrace  the  government  of  England. 

*  Drake's  American  Indians,  B.  II,  p.  51. 

t  Jethro.    Sec  Drake's  American  History,  pp.  81,  &l,  90. 


70  JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE. 

DEATH  OF  KING  PHILIP. 

True  it  is,  and  it  is  but  just  to  say  it,  when  King 
Philip,  in  the  fight  for  his  country  and  nation,  had  been 
shot  down  in  his  native  forest,  his  lifeless  body  torn 
asunder,  and  divided,  was  borne  away  in  pieces  as  by 
brute  beasts;  and  then  the  wife  and  the  son  were  sold 
into  slavery.  Against  all  these,  and  other  practices  of 
the  kind,  Eliot,  by  his  eloquence,  by  prayer  and  petition, 
constantly  remonstrated.  Philip  is  no  more.* 

"He  felt  his  life-blood  freezing  fast; 

He  grasped  his  bow,  his  lance  and  steel ; 
He  was  of  Wampanoag's  last, 
To  die  were  easy  —  not  to  yield. 

"His  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  sky; 

He  gasped,  as  on  the  ground  he  fell ; 
None  but  his  foes  to  see  him  die ; 
None  but  his  foes  his  death  to  tell." 

THE  SHAM  FIGHT. 

As  truth  impels  us,  we  turn  next  to  the  great  Training. 
About  a  month  after  the  death  of  King  Philip,  the  war 
then  being  supposed  to  be  ended,  proclamation  had  been 
made  by  the  English,  that  on  the  sixth  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1676,  there  was  to  be  a  great  training  at  Cochcco 
(Dover,  N.  H.),  in  which  the  red-man,  from  every  part  of 
New  England,  was  invited  to  participate.  That  day 
arrived.  The  peaceful  Wonalancct  was  there;  four  hun- 
dred other  Indians  were  there ;  among  whom  were  that 
scattered  and  bereaved  remnant  of  Eliot's  men,  from 

*  Drake's  Amer.  Indians,  Book  III,  pp.  42-44. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  71 

Wamesit,  and  from  other  places;  —  some  of  whom  had 
been  pressed  into  the  fight,  as  against  a  strong  desire  to 
be  neutral ;  some  of  them,  peaceful,  had  fled  away,  but 
had  returned  at  the  joyful  news  of  peace; — and  all, 
willing  to  join  the  white  man,  bringing  the  Christian 
olive-branch,  had,  as  invited,  come  to  the  great  training 
at  Cocheco.  The  brigade  was  formed,  Major  Waldron, 
who  four  years  afterwards  was  slain  at  midnight,  was 
the  commanding-general  of  the  day.  In  the  order  of 
military  exercises,  there  was  to  be  a  sham  fight.  In  this, 
the  Indians,  without  weapons,  were  stationed  to  the 
drag-ropes  of  the  field-pieces  of  the  artillery.  The  Eng- 
lish, of  course,  had  charge  of  the  guns.  All  being  ready 
for  the  onset,  a  signal  was  given,  by  the  discharge  of  a 
field-piece ;  at  which,  by  a  preconcerted  manoeuvre,  the 
English  infantry,  closing  in  upon  the  Indians  on  all 
sides,  seized,  manacled,  and  confined  them  all  as  prison- 
ers of  war.* 

Thus,  at  Cocheco,  were  assembled  the  Wamesits,  the 
Penacooks,  the  Ossipees,  Pequawkets,  and  others,  all  at 
the  pretended  peace-making  beck  of  the  English ;  and 
were  under  the  benign  protection,  as  they  thought,  of 
the  peaceful  Wonalancet,  and  of  Eliot's  Christian  civil- 
ization. But,  alas  !  they  were  all  prisoners. 

Then  and  there,  without  a  trial,  they  were  separated, 
the  peaceable  from  the  perfidious.  About  two  hundred 
of  them  with  Wonalancet,  then  thought  to  be  harmless, 
were  released.  The  other  two  hundred,  being  suspected 
of  evil  intent,  were  marched  or  boated  away  to  Boston. 

*  Hubbard,  historian  of  that  day,  complacently  says :  "They  were  hand- 
eomely  surprised,  without  the  loss  of  any  person's  life,  to  the  number  of 
400  Indians."  Drake,  B.  Ill,  pp.  96,  97. 


72  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Seven  or  eight  of  them  were  hanged  as  supposed  mur- 
derers ;  some  of  them  were  sent  to  other  parts ;  some  of 
them  sold  into  slavery.* 


PETITION  OF  JOHN  ELIOT  AGAINST  THE  SALE  OF  INDIANS. 

To  the  Hon.  Gov.  and  Council,  sitting  at  Boston,  this  13th  of  the  6th,  1675. 

THE  HUMBLE  PETITION  OF  JOHN  ELIOT  SHEWETH: 

That  the  terror  of  selling  away  such  Indians  unto  the  Islands  for  perpetual 
slaves,  who  shall  yield  up  themselves  to  your  mercy,  is  like  to  be  an  effectual 
prolongation  of  the  war,  and  such  an  exasperation  of  them,  as  may  produce 
we  know  not  what  evil  consequences  upon  all  the  land. 

Christ  hath  said,  blessed  are  the  merciful  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 
This  usage  of  them  is  worse  than  death.  The  design  of  Christ  in  these  last 
days  is  not  to  extirpate  nations,  but  to  gospelize  them.  His  sovreign  hand 
and  grace  hath  brought  the  gospel  into  these  dark  places  of  the  earth. 
When  we  came  we  declared  to  the  world  (and  it  is  recorded)  yea,  we  are 
engaged  by  our  Letters  Patent  from  the  King's  Majesty, — that  the  endeavour 
of  the  Indians'  conversion,  not  their  extirpation,  was  one  great  end  of  our 
enterprise  in  coming  to  these  ends  of  the  earth.  The  Lord  hath  so  succeeded 
that  work  as  that,  by  his  grace,  they  have  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  sundry 
of  themselves  able  to  teach  their  countrymen  the  good  knowledge  of  God. 
And  however  some  of  them  have  refused  to  receive  the  gospel,  and  now  are 
incensed  in  their  spirits  unto  a  war  against  the  English,  yet  I  doubt  not  that 
the  meaning  of  Christ  is  to  open  a  door  for  the  free  passage  of  the  gospel 
among  them. 

My  humble  request  is,  that  you  would  follow  Christ's  design  in  this 
matter,  to  promote  the  free  passage  ot  religion  among  them,  and  not  destroy 
them. 

To  sell  souls  for  money  seemeth  to  me  a  dangerous  merchandise.  To  sell 
them  away  from  all  means  of  grace,  when  Christ  has  provided  means  of 
grace  for  them,  is  the  way  for  us  to  be  active  in  the  destroying  their  souls. 
Dent,  xxiii,  15, 16,  a  fugitive  servant  from  a  pagan  master  might  not  be 
delivered  to  his  master,  but  be  kept  in  Israel  for  the  good  of  his  soul;— how 
much  less  lawful  to  sell  away  souls  from  under  the  light  of  the  gospel  into  a 
condition  where  their  souls  will  be  utterly  lost,  so  far  as  appearcth  unto  man. 

All  men  of  reading  condemn  the  Spaniard  for  cruelty  upon  this  point,  in 
destroying  men,  and  depopulating  the  land.  The  country  is  large  enough; 


*  Drake's  Amer.  Indians,  Book  III,  pp.  81-83. 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE.  73 

THE  SQUAW. 

We,  as  well  as  Eliot,  have  reason  also  to  lament  the 
dealings  of  the  desperadoes  of  our  white  race  with  the 
squaw  sachem  of  Saconet.* 

Prior  to  the  death  of  Philip,  a  proclamation  had  been 
made,  which  called  upon  all  his  adherents  to  come  in,  giv- 
ing them  to  understand,  that  they,  in  that  case,  should 
be  dealt  Avith  mercifully.  Thereupon,  this  squaw  sachem, 
an  ally  of  Philip,  having  first  sent  three  messengers  to 
the  governor  of  Plymouth,  suing  for  life,  promising, 
under  that  proclamation,  submission ;  and  accordingly 
surrendered  herself  and  tribes  to  Major  Bradford. 

But,  sad  to  tell !  they  were  slain,  the  entire  one  hun- 
dred and  ten,  that  very  day.  "Well  might  the  Apostle 
expostulate. 

Great  God,  forgive  our  Saxon  race, 
Blot  from  thy  Book,  no  more  to  trace 

Fraternal  wrath  infernal ! 
That  taints  the  atmosphere  we  breathe, 
The  sky  above  and  earth  beneath, 

With  dearth  and  death  eternal !  f 

—here  is  land  enough  for  them  and  us  too.  Prov.  xiv,  28.  In  the  multitude 
of  people  is  the  King's  honor. 

It  will  be  much  to  the  glory  of  Christ  to  have  many  brought  in  to  worship 
his  great  name. 

I  desire  the  Honored  Council  to  pardon  my  boldness,  and  let  the  case  of 
conscience  be  discussed  orderly,  before  the  King  be  asked.  Cover  my 
weakness,  and  weigh  the  reason  and  religion  that  laboreth  in  this  great  case 
of  conscience.  JOHN  ELIOT."  , 

About  three  months  subsequently,  seven  Indians  were  sold  ["to  be 
transported  to  any  place  out  of  this  continent"],  by  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Colony.  See  Genealogy  of  Eliot  Family,  pp.  133, 134. 

*  Drake's  Amer.  Indians,  Book  II,  p.  40. 
t  From  my  Epics,  etc.,  p.  167. 
'  10 


CHAPTER   V. 


EXTEBMIN  A.TION. 

THIS  was  avowed  as  well  on  the  one  side  as  on  the 
other.  And  at  the  hands  of  desperadoes,  the  natives, 
in  various  ways,  were  constantly  being  crowded,  to  the 
end  of  their  lives.  Provoked  variously,  to  madness  and 
desperation,  they  fought,  some  against  their  own  race, 
some  against  the  English  settlers ;  .and,  as  Cowper  hath, 
in  truth,  said,  "the  brands  rusted  in  their  bony  hands." 

In  view  of  all  this,  it  is  much  to  be  deplored  that  the 
unbiased  historian,  aside  from  Eliot's  influence,  has 
never  been  able  to  see  any  material  difference  between 
the  so-called  civilization  of  that  day  of  trial,  and  native 
savage  barbarism  itself,  as  evinced  by  desperadoes  on 
the  one  side  and  on  the  other. 

So  it  was  at 

WAMESIT. 

In  1675,  the  Indians  (Oct.  27  and  Nov.  4)  had  been 
provoked  by  English  desperadoes,  who  had  repeatedly 
fired  upon  them,  at  Chclmsford  and  elsewhere,  upon 
suspicion  that  the  Wamesits  had  been  guilty  of  burning 
a  barn,  by  and  for  which  some  of  the  natives  had  been 
killed.*  Being  thus  indiscriminately  accused  and  injured 

*  Francis'  Life  of  Eliot,  pp.  279, 280. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE.  75 

as  barn-burners,  it  of  course  came  to  pass  that  the 
Wamesits,  combining  against  the  settlers  in  this  locality, 
by  reason  of  these  aggressions  long  and  often  repeated, 
crossed  the  Merrimac  in  their  canoes,  and,  falling  in 
upon  the  English  settlers  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
near  where  the  old  garrison-house  still  stands  (1880), — 
raising  their  fearful  war-whoop  cry,  and  burning  down 
three  dwelling-houses,  one  or.  more  of  which  belonged  to 
Edward  Colburn  and  Samuel  Varnum;  said  Colburn  and 
others  were  shot  at,  and  pursued  by  the  Indians  (forty 
in  number) ;  and  while  upon  the  river,  in  attempting  to 
cross  it,  the  two  sons. of  Varnum  in  the  conflict  were 
slain.  It  was  March  18,  1676.  And  on  the  15th  of 
April,  then  next,  fourteen  or  fifteen  English  cottages  in 
this  vicinity  were  consumed. 

MOKAL. 

From  all  this,  we  may  clearly  see  how  great  a  matter 
a  little  fire  may  kindle;  indeed,  how  those,  who  unwisely 
take  the  sword,  may  perish  by  it;  and  above  all,  how 
wise  it  shall  be  to  learn  of  Eliot,  bearing,  forbearing,  and 
forgiving,  advancing  valiantly  onward,  following  peace 
with  the  world  under  God's  great  golden  rule,  as  he  did. 

OLD  MEN  AND  WOMEN. 

As  Philip's  war  progressed,  the  Wamesits  at  one  time 
went  away,  deserting  the  station,  leaving  only  some  few 
old  men  and  women  here,  too  old  to  get  away.*  Sad 
to  relate,  soon  after  the  young  Indians  left,  their  wigwams 
at  night  were  set  fire  to,  and  all  those  that  remained 

*  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Eliot,  pp.  15, 16. 


76  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

perished.    Their  ashes,  no  doubt,  are  somewhere  in  this 
ground  on  which  we  tread.* 

PHILIP'S  FOKCE. 

For  a  considerable  time  he  appeared  to  be  strong  and 
invincible.  And  yet  that  light  and  love,  which  by  the 
Apostle  had  been  diffused  among  the  tribes,  tended 
greatly  to  delay  and  dishearten  a  savage  warfare. 

But  for  this,  the  war  would  have  been  longer,  and  if 
possible  more  terrible ;  but  for  this,  the  general  mass  of 
natives  would  have  gone  over  to  King  Philip.  And  in 
that  event,  the  English  settlers  would  have  been  most 
likely  driven  out,  if  not  entirely  exterminated.  Eliot's 
mission  to  evangelize  the  Indian  nations,  although  it 
fell  short  of  his  grand  purpose,  politically,  as  we  have 
seen,  it  saved  the  white  settler  <ff  New  England, —  serving, 
as  it  did,  to  concentrate  a  balance  of  power  towards 
civilization  and  economical  progress. 

All  the  way,  'neath  the  war-cloud  or  otherwise,  Eliot's 
constant  prayer  was  for  peace.  So  it  was  in  the 
Missakonog  troubles,  which  he  so  nobly  averted  and 
prevented.  It  was  so  in  1669,  when  the  Massachusetts 
Indians  made  a  six-years'  war  against  the  Mohawks.  In 
that  contest,  along  the  borders  of  New  York,  seven 
hundred  Indians^  against  the  prayerful  entreaties  of 
Eliot,  waged  war  in  that  wilderness,  and  more  than 
half  of  them  perished  in  the  fight,  f  All  this,  and 
more,  the  Apostle  had  foreseen,  and  had  raised  his 
voice  against  it. 

*  Drake's  American  Indian  Wars,  B.  II,  p.  117. 
t  Drake,  li.  II,  p.  45. 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE.  77 

MALICIOUS  MEN. 

Conflicts  with  the  natives  were  got  up,  not  by  the 
masses,  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  but,  through 
occasional  depredations,  the  kindling  embers  of  anger 
from  time  to  time  were  fanned  forth  to  furious  flames. 
And  although  terrible  scenes  of  war  and  blood  had 
transpired,  beclouding  and  hedging  up  the  pathway  of 
the  Apostle,  in  the  killing  of  his  educated  ministers  and 
teachers,  and  in  the  distraction  or  destruction  of  his 
Christian  churches  and  people  of  his  care,  Eliot  still 
survived,  —  yet  he  mourned,  bereaved,  and  what  follows. 

They  thence,  advance  'mid  oft-recurring  strife, 
Through  conflicts  desperate  kindled  into  life, 
By  hate  implacable  still  lingering  long, 
Avenging  Philip's  death;  and  flagrant  wrong, 
Remembered  well,  encroachments  rash,  designed, 
Repeated  oft,  as  self  had  long  inclined 
The  natives  here.     But  through  the  lapse  of  time, 
Whence  wayward  hearts  to  better  faith  incline, 
Whence  discord  wanes  away,  —  then  Truth  began 
To  shed  with  light  the  vagrant  paths  of  man ;  > 
Distracted  foes  their  errors  soon  discern, 
And  back  to  reason  once  again  return. 
Then  Peace,  that  welcome  harbinger  of  health, 
Of  generous  thrift,  foreshadowing  weal  and  wealth, 
Brings  her  glad-tidings  down,  and  cheers  the  land, 
With  prompt  good-will  and  noble  deeds  at  hand, 
To  heal  the  broken  heart,  to  make  amends 
For  wilful  waste,  which  from  the  past  descends. 

Thence  this  fair  vale,  from  mountain  to  the  main, 
In  vernal  grandeur  buds  to  bloom  again ; 
And  plenteous  harvest,  with  her  golden  ears, 
Crowning  the  prudence  of  progressive  years, 
Adorns  the  field,  and  grace  triumphant  gives 


78  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

To  honest  toil.     Here  Wonalancet  lives, 

Unscathed  by  war,  a  sachem  wise  and  true, 

Of  fragment  tribes  still  roving  far  and  few, 

Along  these  banks,  where  Penacook  had  stood 

For  countless  years,  through  tempest,  storm,  and  flood; 

And  further  seaward  where  Wamesit  lies, 

Still  well  entrenched,  a  wigwam  city  thrives ; 

Rightly  reserved,  the  home  of  hunters  here, 

A  fort  within  and  habitations  dear 

To  friendly  red-men.     While  from  dearth  released, 

From  scourge  of  conflict,  and  in  strength  increased, 

Through  many  a  favored  year  the  Pilgrim  mind, 

By  faith  and  works  religious  freedom  find : 

Such  as  the  fathers  sought  and  had  foretold 

Should  come,  in  grace  abounding  as  of  old.* 

In  that  dread  war,  the  Apostle  had  followed  his 
disciples,  his  ministers,  his  teachers,  his  printers,  his  in- 
terpreters, and  other  brethren  to  their  places  of  im- 
prisonment, at  the  pines  on  Charles  River,  as  they  were 
boated  away ;  and  at  Deer  Island  and  other  places,  while 
held  imprisoned  and  in  chains ;  and  although  powerle;*s  to 
rescue  them,  his  kind,  discreet  voice,  everywhere  and  to 
all,  administered  comfort,  encouragement,  and  consola- 
tion.f 

And  when,  at  Philip's  death,  the  rancor  of  war  seemed 
to  subside,  the  Apostle  again  advanced,  not  as  before,  but 
as  well  as  he  could.  On  foot  —  in  the  forest,  preaching, 
and  trying  to  re-establish  his  former  missionary  stations  ; 
advancing,  sometimes  through  torrents  of  rain,  storms 
of  hail,  or  drifts  of  snow ;  and  sometimes,  for  days  to- 
gether, without  a  dry  thread  in  his  garments. 

*  From  my  Epics,  Lyrics,  and  Ballads,  p.  346. 

f  Dearborn's  Sketch  of  Eliot's  Life,  pp.  14-17.  Bigelow's  Hist  of  Natick, 
p.  36.  Francis'  Life  of  Eliot,  pp.  277,  278. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLB.  79 

ELIOT  AT  NASHUA. 

At  one  time,  in  the  summer  of  1652,  he  had  started 
from  Roxbury,  to  preach  to  the  tribes  at  Nashua,  some 
sixty  miles  away,  as  then  reckoned.  But  while  on  the 
journey,  a  notice  reached  him  of  a  conflict  up  there 
among  the  Indians,  that  might  endanger  his  own  life. 
Thereupon,  for  a  day  or  two,  he  halted,  turned  aside,  and 
waited. 

The  old  chief  at  Nashua,  hearing  of  this,  at  once 
organized  an  armed  force  of  twenty  Indian  warriors, 
headed  them  himself,  and  bounding  through  the  forest, 
surrounded  their  old  Apostle,  safely  escorted  him 
through,  with  gallant  honors,  to  the  place  of  his  appoint- 
ment,—  thus  they  honored  him,  that  he  might  preach 
to  their  waiting,  assembled  people.* 

His  MANY  FRIENDS. 

His  Christians,  those  that  had  already  been  driven  out 
from  their  native  soil,  those  that  had  perished  in  the 
fight,  or  otherwise  had  been  slain,  or  had  died  of  disease 
or  starvation  during  the  conflicts,  including  those  whom 
he,  in  his  long  life,  had  parted  with  at  the  common 
grave,  had  been  thousands. 

Yet  he  had  consolation,  that  amid  all  the  trials  of 
earth,  he  had  constantly  borne  to  the  breeze  that  gospel 
banner  of  righteousness,  beautifully  inscribed,  "  Love  to 
God  !  Peace  on  earth,  and  good-will  towards  men." 


Drake's  Hist.  Amor.  Indians,  Book  III,  p.  85. 


80  JOHN  ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE. 

TESTIMONIALS. 

Richard  Baxter,  the  great  author  and  scholar,  in  1691, 
upon  his  death-bed  in  England,  declared,  among  other 
sayings,  "  There  was  no  man  I  honored  above  John  Eliot. 
.  .  .  I  hope  as  he  did  ;  it  is  for  his  evangelical  succes- 
sion that  I  plead." 

Shepard,  one  of  his  cotemporaries,  then  minister  at 
Cambridge,  while  the  Puritan  settlers  were  trembling 
(in  the  war)  for  the  fate  of  New  England,  exhorting  his 
people  to  take  courage,  declared,  that  "  the  country  could 
never  perish,  so  long  as  John  Eliot  lived." 

Cotton  Mather,  speaking  of  Eliot's  eloquence,  snys: 
"  He  would  sound  the  trumpet  of  God  against  all  vice, 
with  a  most  penetrating  liveliness,  and  make  his  pulpit 
another  Mount  Sinai,  for  the  flashes  of  lightning  therein 
displayed  against  the  breaches  of  the  law,  given  from 
that  burning  mountain."  * 

Edward  Everett,  in  his  oration  at  Bloody  Brook,  an- 
nounced his  belief,  that  "  since  the  death  of  St.  Paul,  a 
nobler,  a  truer,  a  warmer  spirit  than  John  Eliot  never 
lived."  f 

But  what  need  have  we  for  witnesses? 

John  Eliot  is  known  of  all  New  England ;  and 
although  his  translations  of  the  Bible  and  other  books, 
into  the  Indian  language,  have  become  as  a  dead 
letter;  and  his  Indian  nations,  whom  he  tried  to  save, 
were  nearly  destroyed,  their  descendants,  being  now 
unknown,  and  unheard  of,  save  in  some  distant  prairie 
or  wilderness,  still  wandering  afar  off,  few  and  far 
between. 

*  Life  of  John  Eliot,  p.  9.  f  Hist  of  Natick,  ch.  2,  i>.  12. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE.  81 

T  is  sad  to  tell  how  the  Indian  fell, 
How  the  storm  had  swept  the  deck, 

How  the  tribes  of  yore,  all  dashed  ashore, 
The  craft  became  a  wreck ! 

Bright  stars  shall  burn,  and  seasons  turn 

Their  sunny  sides  forever ; 
But  ne'er  to  change,  that  mountain  range 

Again  shall  know  them  never. 

True,  true  they  say,  there's  a  better  day, 

And  faith,  we  ought  to  find  it! 
For  the  lights  of  love,  that  burn  above, 

Are  lit  for  man  to  mind  it.* 

ELIOT'S  ADHERENTS. 

Prior  to  the  war,  he  had  at  his  call  many  whom  he  had 
schooled  for  the  Indian  ministry,  as  teachers,  as  printers, 
as  interpreters,  proof-readers,  etc.,  as  we  have  seen ;  and 
who  had  aided  him  in  his  vast  undertaking  to  civilize 
and  evangelize  the  Indian  nations.  But  first  and  last, 
and  not  least,  among  those  who  contributed  to  that  great 
cause,  there  was  a  lady,  diligent,  circumspect,  duteous. 

ANNA  MOUNTFOET  ELIOT.! 

Their  acquaintance  had  commenced  in  England ;  and 
after  Eliot  had  been  in  Boston  about  a  year,  the  cry, 
"  Come  over  and  help  us,"  or  some  other  cry,  had  reached 
the  car  of  Anna  Mountfort.  At  once  she  made  haste 
for  the  hazardous  sea-voyage.  Ah !  how  the  gallant  valor 
of  that  girl  of  the  oldeu  time  looms  up  to  our  frail 
imagination ! 

*  From  my  Epics,  Lyrics,  and  Ballads,  pp.  191-195. 
t  Genealogy  of  Eliot  Family,  pp.  44,  K. 
11 


82  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Beyond  the  seas,  I  seem  to  see  her  there,  at  early  morn, 
about  to  sever  herself  from  the  mates  of  her  childhood 
and  from  kindred  ties;  there,  at  the  dear  old  threshold 
of  home ;  there,  as  she  takes  leave  of  a  trembling,  tearful 
old  mother,  the  sister,  or  the  brother,  with  that  last  sad 
good-by,  which  never  on  earth,  orally,  was  to  be 
repeated. 

Thence,  through  her  truth  and  love  to  John  Eliot,  she 
dares  the  dangers  of  the  high  seas;  and  three  thousand 
miles  away  from  all  else  dear  to  her,  in  1632  lands  in  the 
New  World,  at  Boston. 

And  such  a  girl!  I'll  tell  you  true,  —  once  here,  it  did 
not  take  her  long  to  find  her  John's  tenement,  or  the 
place  of  the  parsonage.  She  had  come  here,  bearing 
woman's  olive-branch  of  peace  and  love.  She  had  come, 
not  to  encumber,  not  to  embarrass ;  not  as  a  worthless, 
heartless  image,  embracing  a  bill  of  expense.  No  —  she 
had  come  to  help  John,  —  had  come  to  his  field  of  honest 
labor.  She  had  come  to  this  wilderness,  equipped  and 
fortified  with  that  force  and  power  which  no  man  on 
earth  ever  had,  to  wit,  the  transcendent  power  of 
woman's  peaceful,  faithful  love!  She  had  come  to  follow 
the  leadership  of  the  husband,  and  to  advance  to  that 
sphere  and  vocation  which  the  great  God,  in  his  wise 
economy,  hath  pointed  out  to  all  women. 

Thus  armed,  thus  endowed,  with  the  power  of  woman's 
unfaltering,  faithful  love,  that  lady,  just  then  married, 
was  ready  for  duty,  —  ready,  if  need  be,  to  enter  the 
wild  forest  with  her  dear  John,  and  to  help  him  to  fell 
the  trees,  and  to  gather  together  the  bark  and  the  boughs, 
and  to  build  the  wigwani. 


JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE.  83 

HER  FIRST  WORK. 

In  the  beginning,  she  busied  herself,  among  other 
duties,  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  medicine  and  medical 
practice.  But  this,  too,  without  hinderance,  or  inter- 
ference with  the  cares  of  the  household.  So  that,  when 
disease,  contagious  or  otherwise,  came  to  the  white-man 
or  to  the  red-man,  there  she  stood,  by  the  side  of  John 
Eliot,  a  healing  hand,  holding  an  antidote  for  every 
languishing  heart,  a  balm  for  every  wound. 

It  was  thus  from  the  day  of  her  marriage,  that  Anna 
Eliot  became  the  leading  exemplary  spirit,  in  advance  of 
those  brave  old  New  England  mothers,  who  followed  her 
in  succession ;  the  equals  of  whom,  for  valor,  for  frugal 
industry,  for  endurance,  for  truthfulness,  and  for  a  valiant 
faith  in  their  God,  the  history  of  the  world  hath  never 
known. 

Thus  this  primeval  leader  of  the  wives  of  our  fathers 
began  ;  and  thus  she  advanced,  to  the  highest  honors  of 
life,  and  to  a  glorious  immortality.  All  the  way  along, 
through  a  connubial  life  of  more  than  half  a  century, — 
in  the  forest,  in  the  field,  in  peace,  and  in  dread  war,  — 
she  had  filled  well  her  place, — a  wife,  a  Christian 
pioneer,  as  well  as  a  companion. 

With  truth,  and  trust,  and  patient  pride, 
At  morn,  at  noon,  or  even-tide, 

She  calmed  the  cloudy  hour; 
Her  heart  was  full  of  love  and  song, 
She  cheered  her  Eliot  all  along, 

She  brought  him  many  a  flower.f 


»  Life  of  Kliot,  p.  2G9.    Eliot  Genealogy,  pp.  44,  45,  48. 
t  From  rny  Epics,  Lyrics,  and  Ballads,  p.  160. 


84  JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE. 

HEU  DEATH. 

We  have  seen  how  the  girl  had  left  the  home  of  her 
childhood,  and  father  and  mother  and  friends,  in  the 
far-off  England;  and  now  that  lady,  after  the  lapse  of 
more  than  fifty  years,  crowned  with  the  plaudits  of 
"well  done,"  takes  leave  of  earth  itself,  in  presence 
of  the  Evangelist  in  tears ;  animated  by  that  true  faith 
in  God  which  had  led  them  onward  together  through  the 
wilderness  triumphantly,  that  exemplary  heroic  spirit 
fled  away. 

And  when  kind  friends  and  neighbors  had  come  to  the 
threshold  of  a  lonely  home,  the  Apostle,  rising,  covered 
with  the  frosts  of  more  than  fourscore  winters,  and  calling 
them  to  the  casket,  said,  "  Here  lies  my  dear,  faithful, 
pious,  prudent,  and  prayerful  wife." 

O,  what  a  God-given  commentary ! 

And  now  the  funeral  obsequies  are  performed,  "the 
long  procession  passes  by,"  and  the  earth  overshadows 
the  mortal  remains  of  Anna  Eliot. 

It  was  a  new  tomb,  consecrated  and  reserved  to  her, 
as  its  first  inhabitant,  by  the  gallant  people  of  old  Rox< 
bury.*  It  was  a  tribute  to  fervent  faithfulness  and  to 
the  insignia  of  truth.  Yet  cold,  too  cold,  as  best  they 
could  make  it,  was  such  a  new  tomb  for  so  warm  a 
heart. 

ELIOT'S  CHARITY. 

Thereafterwards  the  Apostle,  for  the  want  of  strength, 
could  preach  but  little.  lie  had  arrived  at  the  last  three 

*  Eliot,  Gen.  History,  p.  53. 


JOHN    ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  85 

years  of  his  life.  Knowing  that  Roxbury  had  been  sup- 
porting two  ministers,  to  make  his  own  labors  less,  he 
appeared  before  its  committee,  and  seeking  permission 
to  relinquish  his  salary,  said,  ';I  do  here  give  up  my 
salary  to  the  Lord ;  and  now,  brethren,  you  may  fix  that 
upon  any  mnn  that  God  shall  make  a  pastor."  * 

But  his  confiding  society  said,  no !  They  said  it  be- 
cause they  loved  him,  and  because  they  knew  that  his 
venerable  presence  in  their  midst  was  by  far  of  more 
value  than  any  salary. 

One  day,  the  parish  treasurer  had  paid  him  some 
money,  and  fearing  he  would  give  it  away  before  he 
reached  home,  he  tied  it  up  in  a  handkerchief,  closing  it 
in  with  the  hardest  knots  he  could  make. 

The  Apostle  started  homeward,  and  on  the  way  he 
turned  into  the  cottage  of  a  good  woman  in  poverty. 
Perceiving  her  penniless  condition,  he  said,  "  Oh  !  I  have 
brought  some  relief  to  you."  And  he  tried  to  untie  the 
knots,  and  could  n't  do  it.  At  length,  passing  it  to  the 
poor  woman,  he  said,  "  Take  it ;  I  believe  the  Lord  de- 
signs it  all  for  you."  t 

His  MANNERS.      • 

Hearing  one  of  his  ministry  complaining  of  others,  by 
reason  of  some  unexpected  coldness  and  ill-treatment, 
Eliot  replied,  "Brother,  learn  the  meaning  of  these  three 
little  words  :  bear,  forbear,  and  forgive  ! " 

He  had  students ;  some  of  them,  inclining  to  stupidity, 
did  not  rise  early.  "  I  pray  you,"  said  Eliot,  "  see  to  it 
that  you  be  morning  birds  ! " 

*  Sketch  of  Eliot's  Life,  pp.  20, 22,  24.  t  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  12. 


86  JOHN    ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Cotton  Mather  says,  his  manner  of  prenehing  was 
powerful,  yet  plain ;  that  "his  delivery  was  graceful ;  that 
at  times  his  voice  rose  into  great  warmth  and  energy." 

In  his  old  ag%,  while,  of  a  Sabbath  morning,  an  attend- 
ant was  leading  him  up  the  hill  to  his  church,  "Ah!" 
said  the  Apostle,  "  this  is  very  much  like  the  road  to 
heaven,  —  it  is  up-hill." 

His  DEPARTURE. 

At  length,  on  his  long  anticipated  death-bed,  while  the 
sands  of  life  were  beginning  to  fall,  a  friend  approaches 
him,  in  kindness  making  an  inquiry.  "Alas! "  said  Eliot, 
"I  have  lost  everything,  —  my  understanding  leaves  me, 
my  memory  leaves  me;  but,  thank  God,  my  charity 
holds  out  stiJ." 

Then,  at  a  later  hour,  another  of  his  ministry  called, 
sympathetically.  At  the  first  sight  of  his  friend,  he 
whispered,  "  You  are  welcome  to  my  very  soul.  Pray 
retire  into  my  study  for  me,  and  give  me  leave 
to  be  gone."  Of  course  the  friend  retired.  Soon  then, 
obtaining  leave  to  be  gone,  the  noble  triumphant  spirit 
of  John  Eliot  vanished  into  thin  air,  beyond  the  clouds. 
Its  last  rays,  like  the  rays  of  the  beautiful  sunset,  shoot- 
ing upward,  thence  beamed  backward  on  this  world  of 
ours. 

The  very  stars  of  heaven,  at  this  moment,  are  typical, 
— just  as  if,  bespeaking,  they  were  still  transfusing  that 
evangelical  light  and  love,  which  was  first  diffused  here 
by  the  Evangelist,  to  the  heathen  nations  of  New  Eng- 
land. 

*  Memoirs  of  Eliot,  pp.  150, 151.    Adams'  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  275. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  87 

The  tones  of  his  voice,  audible  everywhere,  are  still 
rising  above  the  ordinary  whispers  of  a  sainted  soul. 
In  it  there  is  no  uncertain  sound.  It  comes  to  us, 
like  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  "prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  and  make  your  paths  straight. 

From  the  very  walls  of  your  chuivhes  that  same  apos- 
tolic acclaim  hath  reverberated,  for  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years.  It  is  still  here.  The  voice  of  the  Evan- 
gelist still  whispers  to  the  young  man,  to  the  maiden, 
and  to  the  little  ones,  —  in  the  Sabbath  school,  at  the 
fire-side,  and  at  the  family  altar.  Known  of  all  men, 
the  very  name  of  the  Apostle  is  glorious.  Plainly  it  is 
known,  at  the  distance  of  two  centuries,  as  if  it  had  for- 
ever been  engraved  upon  the  New  England  door-post, — 
known  universally,  as  if  from  canvas  it  had  swung  upon 
the  guide-post  in  all  the  highways  of  the  land. 

So  it  is,  that  New  England  still  profits  by  the  far- 
seeing  leadership  of  John  Eliot,  by  his  apostolic  plans, 
purposes,  precepts,  and  examples,  which  have  come 
down  to  us  full  of  light,  transfusing  the  primeval  true 
lessons  of  life.  Everywhere,  spiritually,  his  Evangelical 
hand,  far  extended,  is  still  writing  upon  the  wall.  It 
is  an  index,  true,  faithful,  and  profitable,  serving  to 
point  the  generations  onward  and  upward,  to  that 
great 

CITY  ABOVE  Us, 

Where  the  saints  and  the  angels,  with  banners  unfurled, 

Chant  holy  hosannas  to  the  God  of  the  world ; 

Up  there,  where  the  fields,  bright  beaming,  arc  proud, 

Like  the  tints,  'mid  the  rain-drops,  of  the  bow  in  the  cloud; 

Where  the  lakes  and  the  rivers  pure  silver  unfold, 

And  the  rocks  of  the  mountains  are  garnished  of  gold. 


88  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

There,  sweeter  than  morn,  in  the  glory  of  spring, 
The  lily  waves  wide  and  the  wild  warblers  sing; 
From  the  farthest  fixed  star,  as  ye  see  it  bright  burning, 
Around  which  the  spheres,  vast,  eternal  are  turning ; 
Where  did  the  great  maker  stand  forth  from  his  throne, 
When  he  framed  the  creation,  and  called  it  his  own ;  — * 

There,  there  may  you  find  the  great  New  England 
evangelical  pioneer,  amid  throngs  of  the  blest,  in  robes 
of  living  light,  and  in  the  joys  of  his  God. 

EARTH'S  CONFLICT. 

This  with  the  Evangelist  was  long  and  arduous.  But 
now  (1690)  it  hath  come  to  an  end.  Not  so  with  the 
Indian  churches  which  he  left  living,  of  whom  Cotton 
Mather  says :  "  There  were  [then]  six  churches  of 
baptized  Indians  in  New  England,  and  eighteen  assem- 
blies of  catechumens  professing  the  name  of  Christ. 
Of  the  Indians,  there  are  four-and-twenty  preachers; 
and  besides  these  there  are  four  English  ministers, 
who  preach  the  gospel  in  the  Indian  tongue." 

It  is  sad  to  say  that  these,  partly  through  the  infirmity 
of  membership,  partly  for  want  of  constant  ministerial 
support,  and  mostly  by  reason  of  depredations  and  ill- 
usage  from  many  of  the  English  settlers  constantly 
crowding,  were  finally  driven  to  distraction  and  to 
desperate  ends. 

Yet,  as  against  all  this,  the  Natick  Indian  church,  after 
Eliot's  demise,  for  many  years  maintained  its  town 
organization,  until  at  length  it  became  greatly  diminished 
in  population ;  and  finally,  by  an  Act  of  the  legislature 

*  From  my  Epics,  Lyrics,  and  Ballads,  p.  18. 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  89 

it  yielded  its  entire  organization  to  the  English.  So 
that,  in  1792,  there  were  in  Natick  but  one  Indian 
"family  of  five  persons  and  two  single  women."  * 

And  then,  with  all  the  rest  of  the  New  England  en- 
feebled tribes  disorganized,  one  after  another,  they 
wandered  farther  back  into  the  wilderness,  and  thence 
vanished  away  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

During  all  these  intervening  years,  from  the  death  of 
the  Apostle,  murders  and  wars  and  conflicts  of  every 
description,  with  but  brief  interventions  of  peace,  had 
ensued,  many  of  which  were  terrible.  For  instance,  as 
late  as  1777,  transpired  the  capture  and  murder  of  a 
young  lady, 

JANE  McCREA  (LTJCINDA). 

Thus  it  happened,  that  by  reason  of  aggressions  on  the 
part  of  the  English  soldiery  (the  contest  for  the  native 
soil  not  being  then  quite  ended),  a  small  tribe,  skulking 
about  the  camp  of  Jones,  a  young  English  captain,  where 
Jane,  his  betrothed,  was  briefly  making  a  visit,  seized  her 
there  and  dragging  her  by  the  arms  and  hair,  mounted 
her  upon  a  horse,  and  hurried  her  back  into  the  dense 
wilderness.  The  captain,  missing  the  girl,  at  once  dis- 
patched two  friendly  Indians  to  pursue  and  obtain  and 
bring  back  to  him  his  dearest  lost  prize ;  then,  hastening 
himself  to  another  trail,  he  also  pursued  the  tribe.  Now, 
as  appears,  the  Indians  had  obtained  the  young  lady,  but 
upon  a  dispute  between  themselves  as  to  which  should 
present  her  to  the  captain,  and  obtain  a  barrel  of  rum 
which  had  been  offered  for  her  return,  they  in  the  affray 

*  Memoirs  of  Eliot,  p.  120. 
12 


90  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

struck  her  down  with  a  tomahawk.  The  captain  at  that 
moment  appearing  in  sight,  and  hearing  the  shriek  of  the 
dying  girl,  fell  upon  the  two  Indians,  and  they  also  were 
both  slain  at  his  hands.  This  was  near  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson. 

These  are  facts  which  tend  to  show  how  carnal  weapons, 
even  at  that  late  day,  were  still  used.  How  at  the  hands 
of  desperadoes,  seeking  neither  Christianity  nor  civili- 
zation, the  earth  was  still  being  stained  with  the  blood  of 
mortals.  This  incident  was  long  ago  poetized  by 
Barlow,  and  an  extract  is  deemed  appropriate. 

"  Lucinda's  fate !     The  tale  ye  nations  hear, 
Eternal  ages  trace  it  with  a  tear. 

"  He  hurries  to  his  tent.     Oh!  rage!  despair! 
No  glimpse,  no  tidings  of  the  frantic  fair, 
Save  that  some  car-men,  as  a-camp  they  drove, 
Had  seen  her  coursing  for  the  western  grove. 
Faint  with  fatigue,  and  choked  with  burning  thirst, 
Forth  from  his  friends  with  bounding  leap  he  bursts ; 
Vaults  o'er  the  palisade  with  eyes  aflame, 
And  fills  the  welkin  with  Lucinda's  name ! 

"  The  fair  one,  too,  with  every  aid  forlorn, 
Had  raved  and  wandered,  till  officious  morn 
Awaked  the  Mohawks  from  their  short  repose, 
To  glean  the  plunder  ere  their  comrades  rose. 

"  Two  Mohawks  met  the  maid, — historian,  hold! 
She  starts,  with  eyes  upturned,  and  fleeting  breath,— 
In  their  raised  axes  views  her  instant  death. 
Her  hair,  half  lost  along  the  shrubs  she  passed, 
Bolls  in  loose  tangle  round  her  lovely  waist ; 

With  calculating  pause  and  demon  grin, 

They  seize  her  hands,  and  through  her  face  divine 


JOHN   ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLB.  91 

Drive  the  descending  axe !  the  shriek  she  sent 
Attained  her  lover's  ear!  — he  thither  bent 
With  all  the  speed  his  wearied  limbs  could  yield, 
Whirled  his  keen  blade,  and  stretched  upon  the  field 
The  yelling  fiends ;  who  there,  disputing  (stood) 
Her  gory  scalp,  their  horrid  prize  of  blood! 
He  sunk  delirious  on  her  lifeless  clay, 
And  passed,  in  starts  of  sense,  the  dreadful  day."  * 

STILL,  TRUE  IT  PROVED, 

that  after  the  Indian  conflicts  in  New  England,  which 
had  brought  terror  and  dismay  to  our  Pilgrim  and 
Puritan  settlers  for  more  than  half  a  century  from  the 
death  of  the  Apostle,  yet  never  forgetting  him,  the 
Indians,  withdrawing  from  their  rivers  and  ponds  and 
from  their  hunting  and  trapping  grounds,  gradually 
disappeared.  In  their  departure  they  left  behind  them, 
not  the  ruins  of  desolated  cities  nor  lofty  castles,  but  the 
same  old  wilderness,  for  the  most  part  dense  and  dark  as 
ever,  and  now  and  then  on  the  banks  of  rivers  and  on 
the  lake  and  ocean  shores  they  accidentally  left  many  a 
sample  of  their  bows  and  arrows,  their  chisels,  their 
tomahawks,  and  their  mortars  made  of  stone.  Still,  on 
the  north,  from  the  beautiful  Lake  Winnipesaugee  in  New 
Hampshire,  one  that  may  be  called  the  last  lone  tribe, 
wandering,  hunting,  stili  lingered  in  that  dense  wilderness. 
Its  great  chief  was  the  warlike,  devil-daring 

CHOCORUA.f 

He  w:w  the  last  of  the  Pequawkets!  Oh,  what  clusters 
of  incidents,  terrible  in  their  impressions,  seem  to  rally 
around  that  gallant  but  cruel  historic  name.  Prior  to  the 

*  Drake's  Amer.  Ind.,  B.  Ill,  p.  101.          t  Pronounced  Cbeh-corrua. 


92  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

year  1766,  and  for  years  perhaps  up  to  that  time,  this 
great  chief  had  hunted  that  old  forest,  of  which  the  town 
of  Burton  had  become  the  centre,  and  in  which  that 
lofty  mountain  which  still  bears  Chocorua's  name  now 
stands,  as  it  hath  stood  from  the  Creation.  This  moun- 
tain historic  hath  ever  been  known  and  visited  for  its 
tragical  history,  as  well  as  for  its  scenery  and  the 
beautiful  landscapes  that  adorn  it,  near  to  it  and  in  the 
distance  towards  the  great  lake,  towards  the  lofty  white 
mountain-peaks  and  far  away  to  the  high  seas. 

This  old  chief  had  a  family.  His  squaw  died,  and 
was  buried  (beneath  a  log  structure,  after  the  manner  of 
some  of  the  tribes)  by  the  brook-side  where  he  had  first 
found  her. 

He  had  a  small  Indian  boy,  his  son,  who,  after  the  death 
of  the  mother,  continued  daily  to  tag  after  his  father, 
the  chief,  in  his  rahiblings  and  huntings  in  the 
wilderness. 

At  length,  one  day,  as  it  happened,  while  at  the 
cottage  of  one  Campbell,  a  white  settler,  the  boy  got 
poisoned,  and,  returning  home  to  the  wigwam,  soon  died.* 
Chocorua  averred  that  the  white-man  poisoned  the  boy 
purposely.  Afterwards,  one  day,  when  the  father  of  the 
family  had  left  home,  returning  at  night,  he  found  the 
wife  and  children  of  his  house  all  murdered.  After 
burying  the  dead,  the  white  settl  ers  followed  Chocorua 
to  the  same  mountain  which  still  bears  his  name,  in  Bur- 
ton (now  Albany,  N.  H.).  They  there  discovered  the 
chief  on  the  mountain  cliff,  at  its  highest  pinnacle,  and, 
commanding  him  to  jump  off,  "Ah,"  said  he,  "the  great 
Spirit  gave  Chocorua  his  life,  and  he  '11  not  throw  it 

*  See  Legend  by  L.  Maria  Child. 


JOHN   ELIOT,   THE   APOSTLE.  93 

away  at  the  bidding  of  the  white-man."  At  this,  Camp- 
bell shot  him ;  and,  while  dying,  he,  with  doleful,  husky 
exclamation,  pronounced  awful  curses  upon  the  English. 

From  that  day  to  this,  the  want  of  vegetation  in  that 
mountain,  all  its  deaths,  and  all  the  diseases  upon  the 
cattle  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  that  region,  have  been 
attributed  to  that  "dread  curse  of  Chocorua."* 

Not  many  years  since,  on  a  hunting  excursion  to  the 
New  England  mountains,  we  encamped  beneath  the  brow 
of  Chocorua  over-night,  and  in  a  trance  fell  into  the 
following 

SOLILOQUY. 

The  tired  hounds  at  length  are  sleeping, 
And  over  our  tent,  wild  night  is  weeping 

Dark  dews  in  the  Burton  wood ; 
While  from  her  distant  radiant  fountain, 
The  queenly  moon  lights  up  the  mountain 

Where  brave  Chocorua  stood. 

To  this  the  ills  of  earth  had  brought  him, 

'T  was  here  the  white-man  sought  and  fought  him, 

In  daring,  dashing  numbers ; 
From  whence  despair  had  deigned  to  dwell, 
Chocorua,  wounded,  faltering  fell, 

And  here  in  death  he  slumbers. 

Entranced  beneath  thy  craggfid  peak, 
Creation  vast! — thy  summit  bleak, 

Thy  varied  vales  I  ponder; 
I  reverence  Him  who  shaped  the  hills, 
These  silvery  lakes,  those  glittering  rills, 

Wild,  in  a  world  of  wonder. 

*  Drake's  Amef ,  Ind.,  B.  Ill,  p.  101. 


94  JOHN   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Up  'neath  the  stars,  you  glimmering  slope, 
Piled  range  on  range,  they  fill  the  scope 

Of  man's  enchanted  vision ; 
Bold  there  nbove  a  heaving  sea, 
For  aye  U/  vie  in  majesty, 

Earth's  grandest,  proud  position  I 

Life  and  its  joys  Chocorua  sought, 
His  tribe  he  trained,  as  nature  taught, 

Mild  iu  these  magic  mountains ; 
With  bow  and  arrow  known  of  yore, 
Vast  wood-lauds,  wild,  he  hunted  o'er, 

Dame  fed  him  at  her  fountains. 

Of  what  wild  waters  yield  in  view, 
Chocorua  launched  his  liglit  canoe 

On  many  a  rapid  river ; 
Fierce  falcons  faltered  in  the  air, 
And  the  wild-deer  bounded  from  his  lair 

At  the  rattle  of  his  quiver. 

From  boyhood  brave,  a  priest  he  roved ; 
Faithful  at  heart,  he  fervent  loved 

Keoka,  ne'er  to  sever ; 
No  happier  pair  could  earth  produce, 
Keoka  true  —  and  a  proud  pappoose 

Inspired  that  wigwam  ever. 

With  truth  and  trust,  and  patient  pride, 
At  morn,  at  noon,  or  eventide, 
She  calmed  the  cloudy  hour ; 
Her  heart  was  full  of  love  and  song, 
She  cheered  Chocorua's  life  along, 
.She  brought  him  many  a  flower. 

Such  was  the  life  Chocorua  sought, 
Such  were  the  charms  Keoka  brought, 

Unselfish,  unpretending ; 
Kings  of  the  earth,  I  'd  envy  not, 
Give  me  to  know  Chocorua's  lot, 

Such  faith,  such  favor  blending  I 


JOHN    ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE.  95 

Soon  then,  alas !  sad  fatal  years, 
That  moved  heroic  hearts  to  tears, 

Fell  heavy  on  Pcquawket; 
Dread  death,  that  brought  Keoka  blind, 
Had  mazed  Chocorua  in  his  mind, 

The  tribes  began  to  talk  it. 

Of  rushes  rude  they  made  her  shroud, 
In  crooked  form  a  casket  proud, 

And  laid  her  in  the  wild- wood, 
Beside  a  rippling  river  shore, 
Where  many  a  song  and  dance  of  yore 

Had  cheered  her  happy  childhood. 

Six  logs  laid  high  on  either  side, 
Embraced  tlicy  hold  that  sacred  bride, 

With  a  rail-made  roof  around  her; 
Deep  calm  at  rest,  devoid  of  fears, 
Of  loves,  of  hopes,  or  tender  tears, 

Where  first  Chocorua  found  her, 

A  white  flag  fluttered  in  the  air, 

Sweet  stars  from  heaven  glittered  there, 

And  the  zephyrs  came  to  love  her; 
Deep  wood-lands  whispered  sighs  unknown, 
The  plaintive  pines  tiieir  loss  bemoan, 

And  the  wild  rose  cn-eps  above  her. 

Ten  times  a  day  Chocorua  wept; 
Ten  times  a  clay  his  shadow  swept 

In  plumy  form  around  her: 
The  partridge  fluttered  from  his  trail, 
And  the  she-wolf  nightly  heard  his  wall, 

To  a  troubled  trance  it  bound  her. 

Where'er  he  turned,  where'er  he  roamed, 
Or  when  around  the  grave  he  mourned, 

There  prompt  and  true  to  mind  him, 
His  little  lad  with  lifted  eye, 
As  if  to  hail  that  mother  nigh, 

Tripped  on,  and  stood  behind  him. 


JOHX   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

'T  was  thus  Chocorua's  heart  was  pressed ; 
Long  months  moved  on,  but  gave  no  rest; 

Sad  thus,  dread  fate  had  made  it ; 
Still  there  is  grief  as  yet  unknown, 
"One  trouble  never  comes  alone," 

Our  dear  old  mothers  said  it. 

Next  then  indeed,  how  true  it  proved  I 
Another  fate  as  fortune  moved 

Came  cruel  quite  as  t'other; 
By  hidden  drugs,  in  malice  made, 
Alas !  the  boy  hath  fallen  dead, 

To  moulder  with  his  mother. 

Then  wailed  Chocorua  wilder  still, 
Without  a  heart,  without  a  will, 

A  ghost-like,  lurking  wonder ; 
Yet  in  his  flesh  there 's  native  fire, 
Though  earth  and  hell  in  crime  conspire, 

To  drive  the  soul  asunder. 

True,  true  the  story  oft  is  told, 
Chocorua  hateful  here  of  old 

Brought  maledictions  many ;  — 
"  Curse  on  yr  white-man's  soul ! "  he  prayed  { 
"  Curse  on  yr  living  and  yr  dead, 

Nor  give  him  gospel  any  1 

"  Yr  war-path  let  it  lay  in  snares, 
Yr  fields  laid  low  of  frost  and  tares, 

Yr  pestilence  supernal ; 
Of  crime  accursed,  for  aye  to  know 
Prompt  penalties  of  pain  and  woe 

On  all  yr  heads  infernal. 

"  Vile,  heartless  knaves !  ye  killed  my  boy, 
My  own  Keoka's  darling  joy;  — 

E'er  in  the  grave  she  rested ; 
By  deadly  drugs  laid  low,  he  died, 
Me  too,  ye  've  slain  I  —  let  devils  deride 

Ye,  tortured,  damned,  detested. 


JOHN   ELIOT,   THE    APOSTLB.  97 

"  Ho !  let  the  war-whoop  lead  the  fight, 
The  torch,  the  tomahawk,  at  night, 

Yr  habitations  storming ! 
Drive  deep  the  axe,  the  scalping  blade, 
Spare  never  a  white-man,  child  or  maid, 

Give  carnage  to  the  morning ! 

"  Great  Spirit,  let  thy  lightnings  flash! 
Thy  fiery  vengeance,  let  it  dash 

Down  where  the  pale-face  prowls ; 
On  Campbell's  head,  on  all  he  owns, 
Let  panthers  perch  upon  his  bones 

While  hot  in  h— 1  he  howls  1 " 

Thus  prayed  Chocorua,  bleeding,  slain ; 
Vengeance  from  thence  eternal  came 

To  a  devastation  certain ; 
Nay,  ever  since,  from  then  to  this, 
Not  a  breath  of  hope  nor  breeze  of  bliss 

Hath  moved  these  woods  of  Burton. 

Veiled  now  in  shadows  stands  the  sun, 
The  Indian  hunter's  day  is  done 

In  these  New  England  borders ; 
A  baleful  shaft  his  heart  hath  broken, 
Out  from  the  cloud  the  fates  betoken 

Unwonted  strange  disorders. 

Dread  on  that  night  and  hitherto 
The  heavens  let  fall  malarious  dew 

Far  down  these  murky  mountains ; 
Of  all  the  flowers,  not  one  is  known; 
The  maple  leaf  is  dry,  half  grown, 

And  death  is  in  the  fountains. 

The  moping  owl  hath  ceased  to  hoot, 
The  scrub-oak  falters  at  the  root, 

And  the  snail  is  lank  and  weary. 
The  fated  fawn  hath  found  his  bed ; 
Huge  hawks,  high-flying,  drop  down  dead 

Above  that  apex  dreary. 


JOHIf   ELIOT,    THE    APOSTLE. 

Faded,  the  vales  no  fruits  adorn ; 
The  hills  are  pale  with  poisoned  corn ; 

The  flocks  are  lean,  repining ; 
No  growth  the  panting  pastures  yield, 
And  the  staggering  cattle  roam  the  field 

Forlorn,  in  death  declining. 

'T  is  thus  we  're  made  the  slaves  of  earth, 
Mope  in  miasmas,  deep  in  dearth, 

Sad,  from  some  bad  beginning ; 
From  cruelty  to  friend  or  foes, 
Our  morbid  pains  or  mental  woes 

Prove  but  the  pangs  of  sinning. 

High  now  a  voice  is  in  the  air, 
As  if  Chocorua  still  were  there 

With  wood-nymphs  wild  attending. 
'T  is  heard  far  up  the  mountain-side, 
That  plaint  of  earth's  down-trodden  tribe, 

Bleak  with  the  zephyrs  blending. 

Great  God,  forgive  our  Saxon  race ! 
Blot  from  Thy  book,  no  more  to  trace 

Fraternal  wrath  infernal, 
That  taints  the  atmosphere  we  breathe, 
The  sky  above,  and  earth  beneath, 

With  dearth  and  death  eternal ! 


Come,  boys !  we  '11  take  our  tents  away 
To  better  vales.    'T  is  break  of  day ; 

And  the  hounds  are  awake  for  duty. 
Blow,  blow  the  horn !  A  gracious  son 
Hath  brought  a  brotherhood  begun 

In  life,  in  love,  in  beauty  1 


PHE  MERRIMAC  AND  ITS  INCIDENTS.  Epic  Poems 
Boston :  Inncs  &  Niles.  18G5.  12mo.  80  pages.  Illus- 
trated. Price,  S2.00. 

Under  four  divisions  or  heads :  First,  Its  creation.  Sec- 
ond, Its  landscape,  disconnected  with  animal  life,  a  mere 
wild  extensive  surface,  over  which,  by  force  of  gravitation, 
the  water-shed  of  New  England  conducts  its  rains,  gathered 
from  the  mist  and  cloud,  down  the  vales  one  hundred  and 
ten  miles,  —  now  through  broad  intervales,  now  down  in 
dashing  waterfalls,  and  now  variously  rolling  onward  to  a 
boundless  ocean.  Third,  Its  flnuy  inhabitants,  its  animals, 
and  its  native  Indian  tribes.  Fourth,  Its  English  settlers, 
its  peace  and  its  wars,  its  founders  of  cities,  arts  and  sciences, 
and  the  onward  advance  of  civilization. 

"  THE  MERRIMAC  AND  ITS  INCIDENTS.  This  is  a  finely  printed  book, 
and  relates  to  subjects  of  peculiar  •interest  to  those  who  dwell  on  the 
banks  of  our  nobly  and  beautiful  river.  The  poet  recites,  in  harmonious 
numbers,  the  events  whit-h  happened  in  this  region  in  the  early  history  of 
the  country.  Conspicuous  among  these  arc  the  captivity  and  rescue  of 
Mrs.  Duston.  The  verses  celabr.nta  her  sufferings,  her  courage,  and  her 
deliverance.  It  is  a  fresh  honor  to  the  heroine  of  Haverhill.  The  bard 
pursues  the  narrative  until  he  tails  how  she 

'  Wandered  through  the  wild, 
And  Haverhill  reached.' 

'  And  there  they  rest.    There  upward  points  to-day 
A  monument  of  stone  from  Duston's  clay. 
Her  noble  deeds  are  held  in  high  renown, 
Sacred,  like  heirloom,  in  that  ancient  town; 
And  Ion-  as  Merrimac's  bvi  rht  waters  glide, 
Shall  stand  that  mother's  fume  still  by  its  side.' 

.  .  .  The  author  of  this  poem  is  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  Lowell.  Ho 
has  rendered  an  important  si rvioe,  and  one  not  at  all  likely  to  be  at  once 
remunerative  to  him.  He  has  brought  i-.ito  fresh  notice  times  and  men  who 
should  not  be  forgotten,  and  embalmed  their  deeds  and  memories  in  verse 
which  in  this  re-ion  may  well  be  immortal."— From  the  HON.  NATHAN  VV. 
HAZEN,  in  the  Essex  lidnner,  Aug  10,  18G6. 

"  SELECT  READINGS  FROM  MR.  CAVEKLY'S  POEMS,  AT  GREENWOOD. 

The  pastoral  preludes  on  the  organ  did  not  more  surely  carry  tne  I 


CAVERLY'S  (ROBT.  B.}    WORKS, 

out  into  the  pure,  intoxicating  enjoyment  of  Nature,  than  did  the  musical 
beat  of  the  speaker's  words,  as  in  his  first  and  longest  piece,  lie  described 
the  sights  and  sounds  of  primitive  New  England.  As  we  listened,  we 
thought  it  might  not  improperly  be  called  a  symphonic  sonff,  or  poem  of 
the  creation,  — there,  was  such  comprehensive  blending  of  varied  melodies. 
We  were  taken  back  to  the  time  when  '  the  morning  stars  sang  together'; 
and  then,  by  the  gradually  more  measured  tread  of  the  language,  the 
worlds  were  launched,  and  the  mountains  reared  their  crests  up  to  the 
stars.  In  majestic  diction,  the  hills  of  New  England  were  depicted.  In 
the  more  flowing  numbers  that  succeeded,  we  were  aware  that  the 
streamlets  were  born,  and  trickling,  drew  their  silver  line  down  the 
rocky  slopes.  Through  the  meadows  meanders  the  peaceful  river, 
gladdening  herb  and  bird  and  man.  The  songs  of  the  happy  tenants  of  the 
air,  and  the  sounds  of  many  innocent  and  prosperous  industries,  are  heard 
from  every  side.  Then,  in'more  constrained,  almost  impatient  rhythm,  is 
given  the  vivid  picture  of  Nature  in  chains,  but  even  the  captive  is  benef- 
icent. No  longer  the  sportive,  rambling  runlet,  but  now  the  f:iant  Mer. 
rimac  in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines.  The  noise  of  a  thousand  wheels,  the 
whirl  of  ten  thousand  spiudks,  and  the  clatter  of  looms,  arc  pictured  in 
language  fitly  chosen  to  typify  these  active,  gigantic,  and  incessant  activi- 
ties. And  then,  like  peace  a'ftcr  strife,  comes  the  melodious  description 
of  the  gorgeous  fabrics,  more  wonderful  than  any  fairy  legend,  and  by  the 
rich,  subdued  spirit  of  content  that  fills  the  verse,  we  feel,  without  being 
told,  that  a  state  of  society  in  which  sill  amenities,  graces,  and  charities 
flourish,  is  the  purposed  end  of  the  magnificence  and  wealth  of  the  crea- 
tion."—REV.  AUSTIN  6.  GARVER,  in  an  article  as  found  in  a  public  journal 
of  April,  1877. 

"DESCRIPTIVE  SCENES.  Thoreau,  Tracy,  Walker,  and  Whittier  have 
cast  their  garlands  of  praise  upon  the  Merrimac.  Mr.  Caverly  brings 
another,  in  the  verse  which  Goldsmith  used ;  and  makes  it  evident  that  he 
not  only  loves  the  busy  current,  but  that  he  has  also  carefully  examined  the 
history  of  those  inhabiting  its  banks,  even  to  the  remotest  times."— From 
the  New  England  Historic,  Genealogical  Register  of  1867,  p.  383. 

GENEALOGY  OF  THE  CAVERLY  FAMILY,  from  the 
year  1116  to  the  year  1880,  made  profitable  and  exempli- 
fied by  many  a  Lesson  of  Life.  Lowell,  Mass. :  George 
M.  Elliott.  1880.  Printed  at  the  Vox  Populi  Office.  200 
pages.  12mo.  Fully  illustrated. 

"I  have  read  with  great  pleasure  the  excellent  oration  of  R.  B.  Caverly, 
Esq.,  before  the  Caverly  family,  and  the  interesting  lineage  of  the  race. 
I  am  thankful  that  he  has  been  pleased  to  make  such  a  fine  contribution  to 
our  genearogical  literature.  The  book  is  an  honor  to  him,  and  to  his  kin- 
dred^ It  is  also  highly  creditable  to  the  enterprising  publishers  I  see 
not  why  our  works  on  genealogy  need  be  so  dull  and  dry.  The  family  cer- 
tainly is  the  home  of  poetry;  and  all  our  brightest  hopes,  and  happiest,  pur- 
est thoughts  concentre  in  it.  Why,  then,  should  works  on  the  subject  be  so 
dull  and  stupid?  This  fine  volume  shows  us  they  need  not  be.  He  has 


sel  with  his  genealogy,  and  made  almost  a  romance  out  of  his  material. 
He  has  put  himself  and  his  bright  ideas  into  it,  and  taught  us  how  such 
works  may  and  should  be  written.  The  illustrations  come  in  just  right, 

lights,  and 


and  are  very  fine.  I  hope  his  book,  so  full  of  sprightly  thoughts,  and 
bearing  marks  of  careful  research  on  every  page,  will  be  appreciated  by 
his  kindred,  and  the  public  also.  I  shall  place  it  amongst  my  choicest  vol- 
umes, and  frequently  refer  to  it."  —  From  the  REV.  ELIAS  NASON,  the 
celebrated  author. 


CAVERLY'S  (ROBT.  B.)    WORKS. 

EPICS,  LYRICS,  AND  BALLADS.  A  volume  of  4G8  pages, 
comprising,  with  other  poems,  those  included  in  volumes 
1  and  2,  with  copious  historical  notes  thereto  appended. 
Neatly  printed  on  tinted  paper,  and  beautifully  illustrated. 
Price,  $3.00. 

"  This  book  is  elegantly  written,  tastefully  illustrated,  skilfully  printed, 
and  beautifully  bound.  I  have  perused  the  several  pieces  with  keen 
and  sympathetic  pleasure,  and  I  congratulate  f.ie  author  on  the  advanced 
record  he  has  made  in  '  beating  the  sweet  lields  of  poetry.'  Aside  from 
the  intrinsic  merit  of  his  muse,  the  local  scenes  and  circumstances  which 
he  poetizes  become  a  part  of  our  own  life  and  being;  and  thus,  in 
reading  him,  we  have  the  joy,  not  only  of  perusing  tuneful  numbers, 
but  of  seeing  common  things  we  know  around  us,  as  by  an  enchanter's 
wand,  transfigured  into  beauty.  So  the  poet  lives,  because  he  makes 
things  live  around  him.  Hence  comes  the  dignity  of  the  vocation." — 
From  the  liEV.  ELIAS  .NASON,  of  North  liillerica,  author  of  many  books. 

1  We  have  been  permitted  to  glance  at  the  proof-sheets  of  a  new  volume 
Robert  1$.  Caverly,  Esq.    Among  others,  the  poem  '  Arlington '  is  a 
tender,  touching   reverie,  expressive  of  what   occurred    to   him  while 


by  Robert  15.  Caverly,  Esq.  Among  others,  the  poem  '  Arlington '  is  a 
tender,  touching  reverie,  expressive  of  what  occurred  to  him  while 
standing  upon  the  J'otomac  bridge  between  Washington  and  Arlington 


Heights,  the  one  the  great  city  of  the  living,  the  other  of  the  dead;  and 
what  occurred  to  him  on  a  walk  from  there,  over  and  around  Arlington 
and  back,  in  the  shades  of  the  evening,  after  Grant's  inauguration.  Here 
the  poet  wanders  amid  the  desolated  beauty  of  nature  and  the  graves  of 
the  fallen  heroes;  and  recounts  in  his  finest  style  the  touching  and 
romantic  history  of  the  fallen  hero,  and  the  desolalion  of  war.  The 
volume  contains  copious  notes,  which  assist  the  reader  in  recalling  the 
historic  incidents  to  which  allusion  is  made  in  the  poems.  'Arlington' 
appears  to  have  been  written  on  the  day  of  the  inauguration,  and  begins 
thus:— 

'  Potomac  rolls  her  fountr.ins  down 
Deep  gliding  'neath  the  shades  that  crown 

My  theme' of  contemplation; 
While  night  begins  to  chase  away 
The  living  throngs  and  proud  display 

Of  the  great  inauguration.' 

"  While  wandering  towards  the  heights,  he  inquires  the  way.   A  portion 
of  the  answer  is  given  thus :  — 

'"Go  back,"  he  said,  "  and  take  the  day; 
Untimely  spectres  haur.t  the  way, 
When'iii-ht  l.t-l-ill  her  curtain; 
There,  where  rebellion  rose  at  first, 
Where  slavery,  doomed  of  God,  was  cursed, 

They  strang'ely  stroll,  uncertain."' 

•'  What  can  be  more  touchingly  beautiful  than  the  following:— 
'  Half  halting,  'mid  the  sainted  throng, 
In  the  pebbled  path  I  pass  along, 

At  the  foot  of  the  soldier  sleeping; 
Life's  noblest  history,  brief  and  brave, 
I  trace  it,  l;-tt  red  on  the  grave 
In  careful,  kindest  keeping." 
"  And  yet  again  we  have  a  fine  thought :— 

« Eternal  frosts,  with  deadly  blight, 
From  the  heavens  above,  fell  down  that  nlgnt, 
When  Lee  took  marching  orders; 


CAVERLY'S  (ROBT.  B.)    WORKS. 

Sweet  fields  no  more  could  bloom  to  bear, 
Nor  tender  vine,  with  vintage  rare, 

Had  growth  within  these  borders.' 
"Two  quotations  more,  and  we  are  done: — 

'  Strangers,  indeed !  but  no  less  brave 
In  brunt  of  battle,  there  they  gave 

Sweet  life  to  treason's  havoc; 
From  bleakest,  bloody  fields  they've  come, 
Out  from  the  shades  of  Old  Bull'Run, 

And  down  the  Kappahannock.    .    .    . 
•  How  beauteous  is  the  gateway  here. 
That  leads  from  earth  to  heaven,  so  near 

It  meets  my  finite  vision ; 
It  spans  the  whirling  spheres  afar. 
The  midnight  moon,  the  shooting  star, 

That  lingers  in  transition."1 
—  From  the  Lowell  ( Courier)  Star,  Oct.  23, 1870. 

"  MR.  CAVERLY'S  NEW  BOOK.  The  poem  which  opens  the  volume,  and 
gives  it  its  name,  was  written  to  commemorate  an  event  well  known  to 
our  readers,  when  an  eagle  lighted  on  the  Ladd  and  Whitney  monument. 
The  same  eagle,  as  it  is  supposed,  was  shortly  alter  captured  in  Litchlield, 
brought  to  Lowell,  was  purchased  by  subscription,  and  set  free  from  the 
top  of  Carleton  Ulo:-k,  in  the  presence  of  thousands.  Mr.  Caverly  takes 
this  bird  as  the  representative  of  his  species,  and  calls  for  his  experience, 
which  the  bird  proceeds  to  give,  from  the  prc-historic  si'-rcs  down  to  his 
capture  and  liberation."—  From  the  Lowell  Courier,  Oct.  28, 1870. 

"  MR.  CAVERLY'S  ENTERTAINMENT.  The  First  Congregational  Church 
was  well  filled  last  evening,  to  Ik  ten  to  the  readings  by  1{.  It.  Caverly.  Ks<|. 
Mr.  Caverly's  readings  were  all  from  his  own  Poems,  giving  a  variety  of 
style  and  sentiment,  and  affording  an  opportunity  to  judge  of  his  versatil- 
ity of  talent.  He  i-  particularly  fond  of  dressing  up  the  <|iiaint  legends  of 
tlie  iibori  nnes  i:>  the  language  "of  poesy,  and  tho  Wigwam  of  Contoocook, 
and  the  Bride  of  Burton,  were  good  examples  of  this  work.  There  were 
not  wanting,  however,  the  lighter  strains,  as  in  the  'Voice  of  Spring,'  and 
the  'Allegory'  of  the  Squirrel,  irresistibly  reminding  one  of  Wordsworth, 
though  not  exactly  like  him.  'The  Golden  Wedding' was  in  a  humorous 
strain,  after  Saxc  and  Holmes,  and  caused  a  ripple  of  laughter  to  sweep 
over  the  audience  as  the  pictures  of  the  olden  New  England  life  were 
drawn.  In  those  days,  as  Mr.  Caverly  said  in  his  introduction,  the  long 
winter  evenings  were  occupied  in  surprise  parties  and  golden  weddings. 


Mr.  Caverly's  second  volume  of  poems,  in  dainty  dress,  is  now 
and  will  form  a  handsome  holiday  gilt  for  those  who  desire  to  do 
honor  to  the  poet  of  the  Merrimac.    The  'living  voice  and  presence  of  the 


author  are  a  great  help  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  verses,  but  those  who  have 
been  unable  to  hear  him  will  find  a  fund  of  enjovment  in  perusing  the 
volumes  at  their  leisure." — GEORGE  A.  MARDEN,  iCso,.,  Poet,  and  Propri- 
etor of  the  Lowell  Courier,  Oct.  26,  1871. 

HISTORY  OF  BARNSTEAD,  from  its  first  settlement  in  1727, 
to  1872.  Lowell,  Mass. :  Harden  &  Rowell.  Commenced 
by  Dr.  J.  P.  Jewett,  and  after  his  decease,  written,  illus- 
trated, and  published  by  Robt.  B.  Caverly,  of  the  Massachu- 
setts (N.  E.)  Bar.  Price,  §2.00.  2G4  pages. 

"  This  is  a  book  skilfully  written,  well  printed,  and  finely  illustrated.    It 
will  last  much  longer  than  ordinary  books."  —  From  the  Vox  Populi,  1872. 


CAVERLY'S  (ROBT.  B.)    WORKS. 

MISCELLANEOUS  POEMS.  VOL.  I.  THE  EAGLE,  ARLING- 
TON, AND  OTHER  POEMS.  Dover,  N.  H. :  Freewill  Baptist 
Printing  Establishment.  1871.  Illustrated  and  beautifully 
bound.  Price,  $2.00.  12mo.  166  pages. 

MISCELLANEOUS  POEMS.  VOL.  II.  BRIDE  OF  BURTON, 
VICTORY,  AND  OTHER  POEMS.  Lowell,  Mass. :  Stone,  Huse 
&Co.  1872.  Well  bound  and  beautifully  illustrated.  Price, 
$2.00.  12rao.  180  pages. 

"  Mr.  Caverly  was  introduced,  and  premised  the  reading  of  passages  from 
•Arlington,' which  led  him  to  pen  the  poem.  The  greatest  interest  waa 
exhibited  \>y  the  audience,  as  he  progressed  in  his  recital  of  a  walk  bn 
took  among  the  thousand  mounds  which  mark  the  resting-places  of  fallen 
soldiers  on  the  heights  of  Arlington;  and  while  passing  from  his  prologue, 
as  lie  carried  his  listeners  in  fancy  from  Washington  city,  over  the  Poto- 
mac, and  up  the  heights,  \ve  could  almost  imagine  we  heard  the  solemn 
rustling  of  the  trees,  and  could  discern  in  the  twilight  the  melancholy 
records  of  the  battle.  We  could  almost  hear  the  stranger,  whom  the  writer 
met  at  the  outset,  dissuade  him  from  the  visit  by  weird  tiles  of  ghosts  and 
spectres;  and  we,  in  common  with  the  whole  audience,  were  forced  into 
a  smile  by  the  reply : 

'  Why  care,'  said  I,  'for  ghost  or  elf? 

How  soon  you  Ml  turn  to  one  yourself, 
More  worthy  of  your  minding.'" 

—  From  Z.  E.  STONE,  ESQ.,  known  as  an  eminent  journalist,  having  been 
present  at  the  entertainment. 

"  MR.  CAVERLY'S  POEMS.  What  I  most  of  all  admire  in  them  is  the 
patriotic  spirit  which  animates  them.  In  looking  them  over,  the  veteran 
soldier  must  live  over  again  some  of  the  most  interesting  periods  of  our 
national  history,  and  in  thought  revisit  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
places  which  our  country  has  to  show."  — WM.  C.  BRYAXT,  1'oet  and 
Journalist. 

JOHN  ELIOT,  THE  APOSTLE.  Lessons.  With  Historical 
Introduction.  Boston,  Mass.  1880.  12mo.  100  pages. 
Finely  illustrated. 

"  The  elegant  volume  from  the  Vox  press,  on  the  Caverly  family,  having 
had  a  ready  sale,  the  same  author  (Col.  It.  B.  Cavern,  of  tins  city)  is 
following  it  with  a  volume  entitled  '  Lessons  of  Law  ami  Life,  from  John 
Eliot,  the  Apostle.'  It  opens  with  a  sketch  of  the  Eliots  of  England,  down 
from  the  Norman  conquest,  among  whom  was  that  brave  Mr  John  Eliot, 
who  died  in  the  Tower  in  IKJi,  a  year  alter  the  Apostle's  arrival  here,  and 
who  was  as  much  a  voluntary  martyr  to  liberty  as  any  man  who  ever 
died,  and  is  one  whose  life  involves  the  main  chapter  of  English  and 
American  freedom.  The  author,  in  delineating  the  life  ot  the  Apostle, 
interweaves  the  history  of  New  England  in  a  brief,  forcible  manner.  MM 
learnedly  follows  out  the  conclusions  and  deductions  of  the  story.  Iho 
book  is  to  IK-  in  the  same  Hue  style  as  the  Caverly  record,  with  beaut 
engravings  from  the  Vox  copper-plate  press  It  is  (L'di.'nU-d  by  1 1 e 
author,  at  Centralville,  Mass.,  to  the  Reverend  Clergy  <>1  Now  England, 
and  to  the  Teacher  or  Advanced  Student  in  the  Snbbnth  *<;l>o<,l  or  Church." 

—  From  the  llos.  JOHN  A.  GOODWIN,  JMUor  Vox  1'upult,  ISbO. 


CAVERLY'S  (ROBT.   C.}    WORKS. 

POETICAL  WORKS.     Lowell,  Mass. :  Stone  &  Huse.     12mo. 

"  Such  is  the  title  of  an  extremely  neat  and  elegantly  printed  work,  on 
heavy  toned  paper,  through  which  line  steel  engravings  are  strewed. 
Their  contents  prove  that  the  prosaic  details  of  Blackstone  and  Coke  have 
not  obliterated  the  poetic  element  from  the  author's  mind;  the  rather, 
perhaps,  have  they  acted  as  stimulants  to  its  exercise.  The  most  preten- 
tious poem  in  the  book,  as  appears  to  us,  is  entitled  the  'Bride  of  Burton,' 
which  gives  the  legend  of  the  death  of  Chocorua.  The  following  lines  wo 
copy  from  it :  — 

'  Entranced  beneath  thy  cragged  peak, 
Creation  y:ist!  thy  summit  bleak, 

Thy  varied  vales  I  ponder; 
I  reverence  Him  who  shaped  the  hills, 
These  silvery  lakes,  those  glittering  rills, 
Wild,  in  a  world  of  wonder.' 

The  other  contents  are  '  Victory,'  and  a  variety  of  patriotic,  personal, 
and  special  poems.  The  execution  of  the  work  is  commensurate  with  the 
merits  of  its  contents." — From  the  fioston  Traveller,  1872. 

"  PORTLAND,  Sept.  17, 1872. 

"  I  am  in  receipt  of  beautiful  and  choice  volumes  of  Mr.  Caverly's  Poetical 
•works.  ...  I  have  read  and  examined  them  with  interest,  and  lind 
them  filled  with  effusions  that  seem  to  carry  me  back  to  other  scenes  and 
other  times.  In  them  there  is  the  freshness  of  the  present  mingling  with 
the  past  in  graceful  measures  that  seem  to  touch  the  life  and  experience  of 
the  many.  I  shall  keep  these  volumes  carefully,  and  at  times  re-examine 
them  with  interest,  wondering  how  they  could  be  prepared  during  the 
emergencies  of  a  professional  life  But  wonders  will  never  cease,  and 
mysteries  have  no  bounds."— From  the  HON.  Jui>GE  JOSEPH  HOWARD, 
late  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Maine. 

"  CONCORD,  X.  H.,  Aug.  21, 1872. 

"  E.  S.  Nutter,  Esq.  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  from  you 
of  a  copy  of  Mr.  Caverly's  Poems,  Vol.  II,  elegant  in  form,  and  beautiful 
in  expression  and  sentiment,  for  which  you  have,  sir,  my  sincere  thanks." 

—  Fromtlte  KEV.  DR.  N.  BOUTON,  late  Historian  of  New  Hampshire. 

HEROISM  OF  HANNAH  DUSTON,  together  with  the  Indian 
Wars  of  New  England,  to  which  the  History  of  the  Duston 
Monument,  and  its  unveiling,  is  appended  Elegantly  illus- 
trated. Boston,  Mass.  :  B.  B.  Russell  &  Co.  Price,  $2.00. 
12mo.  408  pages. 

"Mr.  Caverly's  historic  and  legendary  works  have  heretofore  been  hon- 
ored with  critical  notices  by  London  reviewers.  We  have  now  to  notice  a 
like  compliment  from  another  quarter.  The  Daily  rteriew,  of  Edinburgh, 
devotes  a  column  and  more  to  a  notice  of  Mr.  Caverly's  work,  the  '  Hero- 
ism of  Hannah  Duston,  together  with  the  Indian  wars  of  New  England." 
The  writer's  opinion  of  tiiis  production  is  very  plainly  indicated  in  the 
concluding  remark,  that  'both  Americans  and  English  have  to  thank  Mr. 
Caverly  for  his  laborious  and  interesting  retime  of  those  old  Indian  wars  " 

—  From  HON.  CHAUNCEY  L.  KNAPP,  of  the  Lowell  Citizen  of  January,  1876. 

"  It  is  a  book  of  thrilling  interest  throughout."  —  Boston  Transcript. 


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